Two ex-fire chiefs in New York City arrested in corruption scandal

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This article was published 16/09/2024 (446 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK (AP) — Two former New York City Fire Department chiefs were arrested Monday on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to guarantee the department’s fire-safety division gave preferential treatment to some individuals and companies.

Anthony Saccavino, 59, of Manhattan and Brian Cordasco, 49, of Staten Island were arrested on bribery, corruption and false statements charges alleging that they solicited and accepted the bribe payments from at least 2021 through 2023.

They each were expected to be freed on $250,000 bail after appearing before a federal judge.

The arrests came as multiple ongoing federal investigations swirl around Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies, including one inquiry that appears at least partly focused on whether the administration sped up fire safety inspections at the Turkish consulate in exchange for illegal contributions.

Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to say whether the case against the former fire chiefs was related to “any other investigation we may or may not be doing.” But he put people on notice that his office is continuing to pursue any corruption.

“We are determined to address it from root to branch, and our work is far from done,” he said at a news conference, adding: “If you are aware of and participated in corrupt activity in our government, now is the time to come forward to get on the right side of the law.”

The indictment against Cordasco and Saccavino said they were former chiefs of the city Fire Department’s Bureau of Fire Prevention. The bureau is responsible for regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems throughout New York City and ensuring fire safety regulations are obeyed.

In an email, attorney Joseph Caldarera called the charges against Saccavino “both surprising and distressing.”

“I want to assure the public that we will vigorously contest these allegations. He deserves the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, just like any citizen,” Caldarera said. “Chief Saccavino’s legacy as a firefighter and a leader should not be overshadowed by these claims.”

Attorney Frank Rothman, representing Cordasco, told reporters that his client “has been a dedicated firefighter for two decades, serving fearlessly and faithfully.”

He added: “This is indeed a sad and troubling day, but I’m glad he’s on his way home.”

While the indictment makes no reference to projects linked to the Turkish government, it does refer to a “City Hall List” that was allegedly used by the fire department to “track inquiries and requests from City Hall stakeholders” and give priority to those projects. Adams, a Democrat, has previously denied the existence of the priority list.

In a lawsuit filed last year, a former fire chief said the list had grown substantially under Adams, becoming “a mechanism to press the FDNY to permit politically connected developers to cut the inspection line.”

Williams said at Monday’s news conference that Cordasco and Saccavino allegedly used the list to “excuse or cover up the way in which they were pressuring other folks to expedite the matters they were being bribed to expedite.”

According to a news release, Saccavino and Cardasco solicited and accepted bribes from a retired firefighter who ran an unsanctioned “expediting” business that promised customers that he could fast-track their plan reviews and inspection dates in exchange for a fee. Williams said the retired firefighter has pleaded guilty to charges in the case.

The trio managed to collect over $190,000 in payments in a scheme they launched after the coronavirus pandemic created a backlog of work for the fire department’s fire-safety division, Williams said.

Even as Cordasco allegedly participated in a bribery scheme, he was raising concern internally about the ethics of granting priority to other projects, according to emails obtained last year by The Associated Press and other outlets.

Following a request by City Hall to expedite an inspection at Hudson Yards, a Manhattan mega-development, Cordasco wrote to other chiefs that it was “extremely unfair to the applicants who had been waiting at least eight weeks for their inspections.”

In a statement, Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said the department will “fully cooperate” with the investigation.

“Every member of the FDNY takes a sworn oath to conduct themselves honestly and ethically,” Tucker said. “Anything less will not be tolerated”

Over the weekend, the top legal adviser to Adams abruptly resigned. That came days after the head of the New York Police Department resigned after federal investigators seized his phone.

According to the indictment, the former fire chiefs were charged with conspiracy to solicit a bribe, solicitation and receive of a bribe, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and making false statements in connection with a scheme to solicit and accept tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies.

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Associated Press Writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.