Federal prosecutors indicted two former high-ranking New York City Fire Department chiefs Monday on charges of pocketing bribes to expedite fire safety reviews.
Mayor Eric Adams' administration has been under scrutiny from prosecutors from the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan. Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned last week amid a federal investigation into his department’s nightclub enforcement.
"New Yorkers deserve better," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a news conference where he announced the charges against the former chiefs, Anthony Saccavino and Brian Cordasco.
The indictment charges the pair — who combined had over 50 years at the FDNY, the largest fire department in the country — with taking over $190,000 in bribes as part of a scheme they are alleged to have engaged in while they were running the department's Bureau of Fire Prevention.
The BFP regulates the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings throughout New York City, and the agency's sign-off is necessary for some buildings and businesses to go into operation.
"For nearly two years, Saccavino and Cordasco misused this authority for their own financial gain," teaming with a retired firefighter who had an "expediting" business that offered businesses help with the process, the indictment says.
The chiefs secretly partnered with the expediter, helping businesses working with him to get faster attention in the backlogged system, in which applicants are supposed to be dealt with on a first-come, first-served business, authorities alleged. In return, they got 30% of the expediter's money, the indictment says.
The chiefs, who were each making over $250,000 a year from the department, "let some people cut to the front of the line," Williams said, "a VIP line that could only be accessed by bribes."
The pair kept their subordinates in the department in the dark about the scheme by blaming the mayor's office or other elected officials for the need to prioritize inspections for the expediter's clients, authorities say.
The scheme eventually involved 30 different projects and ended when they had a falling out with their co-conspirator last year, the indictment says. Jocelyn Strauber, head of the New York City Department of Investigation, told reporters all the sites have since been re-inspected.
Saccavino and Cordasco have been hit with a number of charges, including conspiracy to solicit and receive a bribe, solicitation and receipt of a bribe and making false statements to federal agents.
Both are no longer with the FDNY — Saccavino retired in March, and Cordasco retired in June.
They would not comment after a court hearing.
Saccavino's attorney, Joseph Caldarera, wrote that his client "vehemently denies" the allegations. "The US attorneys office and the investigators from the FBI are taking these investigations seriously and rightfully so. But they’ve got the wrong guy when it comes to Chief Saccavino,” he said.
Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said in a statement that “[e]very member of the FDNY takes a sworn oath to conduct themselves honestly and ethically. Anything less will not be tolerated. The Department will fully cooperate with any ongoing investigations."
Speaking to reporters Monday, Adams noted that the alleged scheme "started under the previous administration. Our administration became aware of it. They took the proper steps and reported the action."
Williams' office has been scrutinizing top people in Adams' administration. Caban’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 probe. Those whose homes were searched included First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III.
Federal prosecutors are looking into whether the Democratic mayor's campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources, funneled through straw donors.
Over the weekend, Adams' legal adviser, Lisa Zornberg, announced she was resigning. Asked by a reporter at a news conference Monday whether she did so because he disregarded her advice to make high-level staffing changes, Adams said he does not discuss "private conversations."
Adams has noted that he has not officially been accused of wrongdoing. After Caban resigned, he told reporters, “I was as surprised as you to learn of these inquiries, and I take them extremely seriously.”
Williams would not comment on any other investigation Monday but said that "our fight against public corruption continues" and that "our work is far from done."
