Two former top New York City Fire Department chiefs were indicted by federal prosecutors Monday on charges of accepting bribes to speed up fire safety inspections.
The charges were brought by the administration of Mayor Eric Adams is under control From prosecutors at the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned last week during a federal investigation into his department’s nightclub enforcement.
“New Yorkers deserve better,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a news conference announcing the charges against former executives Anthony Saccavino and Brian Cordasco.
The indictment charges that the couple, who worked for the FDNY, the nation’s largest fire department, for more than 50 years, took more than $190,000 in bribes in a scheme they allegedly participated in while running the department’s Bureau of Fire Protection.
The BFP regulates the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings throughout New York City, and some buildings and businesses require the agency’s signature to operate.
“For nearly two years, Saccavino and Cordasco abused this power for their own financial gain,” the indictment says, teaming up with a retired firefighter who owned an “acceleration” business to offer the companies help in the process.
The bosses secretly partnered with the freight forwarder to help businesses with it get noticed more quickly in a backlog system where applicants are expected to do business on a first-come, first-served basis. The indictment states that they received 30 percent of the forwarder’s money in return.
The chiefs, who each make more than $250,000 a year from the department, “let some people cut the front of the line,” Williams said, “a VIP line that can only be obtained with bribes.”
The pair blamed the mayor’s office or other elected officials for the need to prioritize inspections for the freight forwarder’s customers, keeping subordinates in the department in the dark about the scheme.
The scheme eventually involved 30 different projects, the indictment says, and ended last year when they fell out with their co-conspirators. Jocelyn Strauber, head of the New York City Department of Investigation, told reporters that all sites have since been re-examined.
Saccavino and Cordasco were indicted on multiple charges, including conspiracy to solicit and receive bribes, soliciting and receiving bribes, and making false statements to federal agents.
Both are no longer with the FDNY — Saccavino retired in March and Cordasco retired in June. They are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, and their lawyers’ information was not immediately available.
“Every member of the FDNY takes an oath to act honestly and ethically. Anything less is intolerable. The department will fully cooperate with any ongoing investigations,” said Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker.
The indictment comes as Williams’ office scrutinizes senior people in Adams’ administration. The now retired Commissioner Jaban’s phone was seized this month Around the same time, FBI agents raided the homes of top Adams administration officials as part of a separate investigation. Among those whose homes were searched were First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III.
Adams noted that he has not been formally charged with wrongdoing. After Caban’s resignation, he told reporters: “I was as surprised as you are to learn about these inquiries, and I take them very seriously.”
Williams would not comment on any other investigation Monday, but said “our fight against public corruption continues” and that “our work is far from over.”
Brittany Kubicko contributed.