The public transit workers union is pushing to boot judges who spring violent criminals who assault its members — a troubling trend that’s on the rise.
Eighty-seven on-duty New York City Transit and MTA bus employees have been assaulted so far this year — a 13% increase over the 77 who were assaulted during the same period in 2025 and 36% more than the 64 assaulted in the span in 2024, according to data from the Transit Workers Union local 100.
Two cases where assailants attacked workers and were then released without bail have left John Chiarello, president of TWU Local 100, “mad as hell,” he said.
“Here’s a classic case of total injustice,” Chiarello said.
The union is “discussing actions they may take,” including a possible demonstration to call for the judges to be removed, a spokeswoman said.
The first case involved Thywill Anasu, who allegedly “knocked out” BxM1 bus operator Johnny Rodriguez by slamming his head on the pavement and punching him repeatedly after a fender bender near Yonkers on April 4.
The 59-year-old bus driver was making a U-turn that’s part of his regular route and made contact with Anusu’s vehicle as he sped past, video shows.
Both men got out of their vehicles and Anasu, 29, “placed the victim in a chokehold, applied pressure… and threw the victim to the ground, causing the victim to hit his head on the pavement,” according to a Westchester County indictment.
At his arraignment in Westchester County Court, Anasu told Judge George Fufidio in a rambling speech that the bus driver invaded his personal space.
“I’m a gentle guy, I’m not a fighter,” Anasu said in court on April 30, as video of the assault was played. “He was spazzing on me. That is probably the chokehold. My defense mechanism.”
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office requested bail in the amount of $50,000 cash and $150,000 bond, a spokeswoman said.
Fufidio ignored the request and set bail at $5,000 cash or $50,000 bond, the spokeswoman said. Anasu, who told the judge he runs a pressure-cleaning business and was driving a new truck, posted bail.
Four months later, Anasu was in trouble again.
This time, he allegedly assaulted an FDNY fire marshal in uniform in the Bronx, according to a criminal complaint there.
Anasu was arrested two days later and charged with assault, burglary, illegal entry to the building and other criminal counts, the complaint shows.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office asked for $50,000 cash bail or $150,000 bond, but Bronx Judge Michele Davila freed Anasu on supervised release, officials said.
“Does this man have to kill somebody before he’s remanded to jail?” asked Chiarello.
Johnny Rodriguez told The Post he left his bus to check on the other driver after the fender bender and the man seemed fine at first.
“At the moment that I’m walking away, he just attacked,” Rodriguez said. “He grabbed me, and I tried to get him off of me. He flipped me onto the ground and he banged my head into the ground.”
Rodriguez suffered two brain bleeds, a concussion, a torn ligament in his shoulder and has had vertigo and brain fog since the attack, he said.
“The judge made a mistake when he let him out,” Rodriguez said. “He could have hurt or killed someone else. They need to look at what’s going on here.”
In another case, a Times Square subway station cleaner was left with a deep slash wound in his arm after he angered homeless drifter Jhon Hurtado Olmos.
A raging Olmos allegedly slashed the cleaner, whose name wasn’t released, around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 after the city employee asked him to step away from an area so he could clean.
Photos provided by the union show that the worker was left with a gaping slash wound on his arm.
Olmos took off after the attack, and cops arrested him nine days later on Sept. 2, police said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked for $30,000 bail, but Judge Shirin Zarabi freed him on supervised release, officials said.
There is some precedent for removing judges from criminal cases.
Supreme Court Judge Naita Semaj was expected to move from criminal to civil court in 2023 as she faced a judicial probe into claims of abusive and unprofessional behavior, as well as the controversy over her decision to free alleged killer stepdad Tyresse Minter without bail.
Office of Court Administration spokesman Al Baker said he couldn’t comment on individual bail decisions. He didn’t respond when asked if Semaj was still hearing criminal cases.
“It is important to note, however, that the vast majority of bail decisions turn on the court’s discretionary weighing of a broad range of factors in order to make an individualized assessment of the defendant’s risk of flight to avoid prosecution,” he said, explaining that the assessment involves “consideration of information and arguments presented by the prosecutor and defense counsel.”
Additional reporting by Sonya Gugliara.
