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City Council Demands Crackdown After Wu Hires Felons and Sex Offenders

Tuesday, August 26, 2025•
9 min read
MDN Staff
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City Council Demands Crackdown After Wu Hires Felons and Sex Offenders

Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn sound alarm on City Hall hiring scandals.

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BOSTON — It’s open season on Mayor Michelle Wu’s hiring practices.

Boston City Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn have filed an emergency order demanding answers after a parade of City Hall embarrassments left the city looking more like reality TV than local government.

The latest trigger? City employee Nasiru Ibrahim, 25, who was arrested after a roadside fight with a State Trooper. Prosecutors say Ibrahim had a Glock fitted with a “switch” that turned it into a fully automatic machine gun. He pleaded not guilty to five gun felonies, but the image of a Wu staffer packing battlefield hardware has City Hall in meltdown.

Then there’s Robert Claud, 37 — a Level 3 sex offender who somehow spent nearly a year on the Parks & Rec payroll before quietly resigning this August. Level 3 means “high risk of re-offending.” Parks department, meet predator watch list.

But the circus doesn’t end there.

Deputy neighborhoods chief Ciara D’Amico was caught on viral video in a North End street melee — accused of hurling a high heel during the late-night fight.
Deputy neighborhoods chief Ciara D’Amico was caught on viral video in a North End street melee — accused of hurling a high heel during the late-night fight.
City Hall liaison Samantha Peracchi was filmed lunging at a female bartender inside North End hotspot L’Osteria — a boozy bust-up that left Boston politics looking more like reality TV.
City Hall liaison Samantha Peracchi was filmed lunging at a female bartender inside North End hotspot L’Osteria — a boozy bust-up that left Boston politics looking more like reality TV.
Robert Claud, a Level 3 sex offender, quietly drew a paycheck in Boston’s Parks & Rec department for nearly a year before resigning this August.
Robert Claud, a Level 3 sex offender, quietly drew a paycheck in Boston’s Parks & Rec department for nearly a year before resigning this August.
City Hall staffer Daunasia Yancey was arrested in April after a domestic incident — she has pleaded not guilty, but her continued spot on the payroll turned heads across Boston.
City Hall staffer Daunasia Yancey was arrested in April after a domestic incident — she has pleaded not guilty, but her continued spot on the payroll turned heads across Boston.

Other Scandals on Wu’s Watch

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  • Daunasia Yancey, Wu staffer, arrested in April in a domestic incident. She pleaded not guilty but stayed on payroll for months.

  • Jacqueline Cherisme, Boston Public Health Commission worker, charged accessory after the fact and with witness intimidation after a Roxbury murder.

  • Ciara D’Amico, deputy director of neighborhoods, caught on viral video allegedly hurling a shoe during a North End street fight. Was not charged but scandal was widely featured in several outlets.

  • Samantha Peracchi, Councilor Coletta’s North End liaison, filmed lunging at a female bartender inside L’Osteria.

  • Marwa Khudaynazar and Chulan Huang, two staffers fired after a domestic dispute in May. Marwa later went public with allegations against a senior official — prompting an outside investigation that cleared him. The pair’s case underscored how messy and unpredictable City Hall’s personnel controversies have become.

Murphy & Flynn Step In

Councilor Ed Flynn, a Navy veteran and son of a former Boston mayor, is seen as the steady hand in City Hall — more sailor’s grit than soap-opera theatrics.
Councilor Ed Flynn, a Navy veteran and son of a former Boston mayor, is seen as the steady hand in City Hall — more sailor’s grit than soap-opera theatrics.
Councilor Erin Murphy has built a reputation as one of the Council’s most grounded figures — a former teacher who brings plain-spoken common sense to a City Hall often drowning in drama.
Councilor Erin Murphy has built a reputation as one of the Council’s most grounded figures — a former teacher who brings plain-spoken common sense to a City Hall often drowning in drama.

Councilors Murphy and Flynn say enough is enough. Their emergency order demands:

  • Mandatory sex-offender registry checks on all applicants.
  • No start dates until background checks are cleared.
  • Annual re-screenings for every city worker.
  • Immediate suspensions if employees are charged with violent or sexual crimes.
  • A full audit of every hire since July 2023.

The order was filed under “suspension of the rules” — council-speak for “we can’t even wait for the paperwork, this is that bad.” Departments expected to face the grill include HR, BPD, Law, Parks & Rec, and Facilities.

Wu on the Spot

Mayor Michelle Wu, once hailed as Boston’s progressive wunderkind, is now dogged by a string of hiring scandals that have left City Hall looking more like a soap opera than a government.
Mayor Michelle Wu, once hailed as Boston’s progressive wunderkind, is now dogged by a string of hiring scandals that have left City Hall looking more like a soap opera than a government.

City Hall insists it acted fast in some cases — Ibrahim was placed on unpaid leave, Khudaynazar and Huang were fired, and Cherisme is suspended pending her case. But the Council wants to know how so many red-flag hires got through Wu’s filter in the first place.

With hearings looming, Murphy and Flynn are betting Boston taxpayers want fewer soap operas in City Hall and a little more screening at the front door.

Cases mentioned remain pending unless otherwise noted. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.

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