BAD APPLE? Mamdani Taps Ex-Con Rapper Who Served 7 Years for Armed Robbery for Criminal Justice Adviser: Report

More fireworks — and City Hall hasn’t even changed hands yet.

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is kicking off his City Hall transition with a bombshell — tapping a rapper who spent seven years in state prison for armed robbery to help shape New York City’s criminal justice policy.

Mysonne Linen, 49, a Bronx ex-convict turned activist, was found guilty of two felony heists in the late ’90s. Now, Mamdani has appointed him to a “criminal legal system” committee.

“This is a testament to our decades of work advocating on behalf of black and brown communities and our expertise in gun violence prevention, legislative advocacy and criminal justice reform,” Linen boasted on Instagram. “We are building something different.”

Linen’s rise was supposed to come through music — his debut album with Def Jam was about to drop when he was convicted in 1999 for being part of a crew that robbed two Bronx cab drivers, the New York Daily News reported.

Prosecutors said the crew pulled off the June 8, 1997, robbery of taxi driver Joseph Exiri and the March 31, 1998, gunpoint stickup of cabbie Francisco Monsanto. Linen, who faced 25 years, denied involvement and later reinvented himself as a community activist after getting out of prison.

But Mamdani’s decision to elevate him, after a campaign already rocked by the socialist’s anti-cop and anti-Israel rhetoric, is sparking fresh outrage as he prepares to govern the nation’s biggest city.

“Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani just appointed a convicted armed robber to help shape NYC’s crime and policing policy,” Jews Fight Back blasted on X.

“Insane. New York City is being handed over to radicals, extremists and outright terrorists,” the group added.

🚨 NEW YORK, MEET YOUR NEW “CRIMINAL JUSTICE” ADVISER 🚨

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani just appointed a convicted armed robber to help shape NYC’s crime and policing policy.

Meet Mysonne Linen.
Served 7 years for armed robberies of NYC taxi drivers.
Beat one victim with a bottle.… pic.twitter.com/bg2NLHRMjS

— Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JewsFightBack) December 8, 2025

More over at The New York Post:

Zohran Mamdani taps ex-con rapper to serve as criminal justice adviser on mayoral transition team: ‘Insane’ https://t.co/pPS3XS6eGE pic.twitter.com/NcPQbfJ2wU

— New York Post (@nypost) December 8, 2025