FDNY chiefs indicted in federal bribery probe over safety inspection kickbacks

Two former FDNY chiefs were indicted on bribery, corruption and false statement offenses for allegedly conspiring to solicit and accept tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments for giving preferential treatment to certain people and companies with safety inspection matters pending, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Anthony Saccavino, 59, and Brian Cordasco, 49, were charged with conspiracy to solicit and receive a bribe, solicitation and receipt of a bribe, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and making false statements in the alleged scheme.

Prosecutors alleged the scheme lasted about two years, from 2021 through 2023, and said the two collectively raked in $190,000.

They each were freed on $250,000 bail after entering not guilty pleas before a federal judge.

Both allegedly misused their authority as the top-ranking officials in the FDNY's Bureau of Fire Prevention to fast-track inspections and reviews for cash. The BFP division is tasked with regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in buildings. In most cases, BFP approvals are required for a building to be occupied or open to the public.

Prosecutors claim Saccavino and Cordasco, having joined the FDNY in 1995 and 2002, respectively, moved into the BFP in 2020, one year before becoming entangled in the alleged bribery scheme. The two are accused of working with a third man, a retired FDNY firefighter who started an "expediting" business to help people and businesses fast-track reviews and inspections.

Saccavino and Cordasco were silent partners in the company, and would receive 30% kickbacks on the inspections they helped bump to the front of the line.

The bribery scheme started in earnest in the summer of 2021, according to federal prosecutors, when BFP backlogs grew frustratingly long due to staffing shortages and pandemic slowdowns. In April 2022, for example, average wait times for a fire alarm system plan review lasted 13-16 weeks.

Despite allegedly offering expedited services to those willing to pay, the chiefs apparently balked at a City Hall list that sought help from the BFP in approving special projects. In an email dated around April 2022, prosecutors said Cordasco wrote that he found prioritizing a major midtown development project on that list "extremely unfair to the applicants who have been waiting at least 8 weeks for their inspection."

Over the course of two years, prosecutors said they found instances of about 30 projects that received a bump from Saccavino and Cordasco's fast-tracking. Their work dried up in early 2023 following a "falling out" with the third co-conspirator, who allegedly did not pay the chiefs outstanding bribe money.

Prosecutors said the FBI interviewed Saccavino and Cordasco in Feb. 2024 about the alleged scheme, and claimed the two chiefs lied about their involvement in the kickback operation.

In their roles as highest ranking officer of the BFP and the second-in-command, Saccavino and Cordasco earned annual salaries of $263,478 and $257,296, according to the federal indictment. The FDNY confirmed both men retired prior to the indictment release.

“Every 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. Keeping New Yorkers safe remains our top priority,” Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said in a statement. Tucker said the department will “fully cooperate” with the investigation.

Outside the courthouse, neither Saccavino nor Cordasco commented, though attorney Joseph Caldarera called his client, Saccavino, “an American hero,” a 9/11 first responder who had been with the department since 1995. Prosecutors, he said, "got the wrong guy.”

“He vehemently denies all of the allegations against him today,” the lawyer said. “Is this connected to City Hall? Is this connected to Eric Adams? I'm sure that's the next big question. At this time we don't know and we don't have an answer to that question.”

Attorney Frank Rothman, representing Cordasco, told reporters that his client “has been a dedicated firefighter for two decades, serving fearlessly and faithfully," adding that "this is indeed a sad and troubling day, but I'm glad he's on his way home.”

The indictment comes at a time when the Adams administration entrenched in a number of federal investigations, one that saw the resignation of the city's top cop last week. Presently, however, there is no evidence linking the chiefs' bribery case to those other probes involving many in the mayor's circle.

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

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, at a Monday press conference announcing the criminal charges, declined to publicly make such a connection. He did, however, emphasize that his office is determined to expose any form of corruption "from root to branch."

“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," Williams said.

Jake Offenhartz and Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press contributed to this report.