TWU Local 100 to judges: enough is enough

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OCTOBER 8, 2026—TWU Local 100’s message has been heard loud and clear by a Westchester judge who set an expedited trial date today for the assailant of our Brother MTA Bus Operator—the same judge had previously given the attacker low bail. But the man who was charged with that assault, Thywill Anasu, is still walking free.

President John V. Chiarello, joined by a crowd of TWU Local 100 members, was in White Plains this morning to keep sending that message to Judge George Fufidio and other judges who have set low and no bail for those who have attacked members of this union: Enough is enough.

“My blood is boiling right now,” said Chiarello at a press conference after the hearing. “He should be ashamed of himself,” Chiarello said of Fufidio. “He should turn in his black robes.”

Anasu is charged with assault in the first degree for putting MTA Bus Operator Johnny Rodriguez in a chokehold and body-slamming him on the border of Yonkers and the Bronx in April. Rodriguez was left with multiple brain bleeds and hospitalized for over a week after the attack.

When Anasu was arraigned by Fufidio, he ignored the DA’s recommendation of $50,000 cash bail and set a $5,000 bail instead. That allowed Anasu, while out on bail for assault, to be arrested for another assault in August, this time on an FDNY Fire Marshal. The judge in that case, Bronx judge Michele Davila, set him free with no bail, against the DA’s recommended $50,000 bail.

Today’s was the first of Anasu’s hearings that Bus Operator Rodriguez felt up to going to—he wore an arm sling after a recent surgery due to the beating from Anasu and was glad to be surrounded by his fellow union members.

“It’s a disappointment for me, for my family, it’s not right,” said Rodriguez, who has been driving a bus for 13 years. “What can happen next? Somebody has to die before they put this guy in jail?”

Chiarello made it clear that it is the judges who are to blame in these situations—not the District Attorneys, Assistant District Attorneys, or police, and that in many cases judges are elected, and the public should be aware of who they are.

The court appearance itself was brief, with the next date in the case set for October 22, which will be in front of the Supervising Judge of Criminal Courts to prepare for trial.

After the hearing and press conference Chiarello, Rodriguez, and other Local 100 officers met with Westchester District Attorney Susan Cacace to express our concerns.

“Watch your back,” Chiarello said of Anasu, warning the public. “Because he’s out there, he’s on the loose and he’s committed yet another crime in the Bronx.”