On Monday, two former chiefs of the New York City Fire Department were taken into custody on allegations that they had accepted bribes totalling tens of thousands of dollars to ensure that the department’s fire safety division gave special treatment to certain people and businesses.
On charges of bribery, corruption, and making false statements, Anthony Saccavino,59, of Manhattan, and Brian Cordasco,49, of Staten Island, were taken into custody. They claimed they sought and accepted bribe money from at least 2021 through 2023.
They pleaded not guilty before a federal judge and were released on $250,000 bail. Neither spoke outside the courthouse.
As numerous federal investigations concerning Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies continue, the arrests coincided with one that seems to be at least partially concerned with whether the administration expedited fire safety inspections at the Turkish embassy in exchange for illicit contributions.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, stationed in Manhattan, would not comment on whether the prosecution against the former fire chiefs was connected to “any other investigation we may or may not be conducting.” However, he made it clear that his office would keep looking into 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.
Former heads of the city Fire Department’s Bureau of Fire Prevention, which oversees the installation of suppression and fire safety systems across New York City and makes sure rules are followed, were Cordasco and Saccavino.
Attorney Joseph Caldarera referred to his client Saccavino, a 9/11 first responder who has been with the NYPD since 1995, as “an American hero” outside the courthouse. He argued that the prosecution “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.”
Representing Cordasco, attorney Frank Rothman informed the media 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.”
The indictment mentions a “City Hall List” that the fire department allegedly uses to “track enquiries and requests from City Hall stakeholders” and give precedence to certain projects, even though it makes no mention of projects connected to the Turkish government. Democrat Adams has previously refuted the priority list’s existence.
A former fire chief said in a complaint filed last year that the list had significantly expanded under Adams and had turned into a device to force the FDNY to permit politically connected developers to cut the inspection queue.
Cordasco and Saccavino reportedly used the list to “excuse or cover up how they were pressuring other folks to expedite the matters they were being bribed to expedite,” according to Williams during the news conference on Monday.
A news release claims that Saccavino and Cardasco sought and took bribes from a retired firefighter who operated an unlicensed “expediting” company. For a charge, the retired firefighter’s business offered customers the ability to expedite their plan reviews and inspection dates. According to Williams, the retired firefighter has entered a guilty plea to the case’s accusations.
In a scheme they started after the coronavirus pandemic caused a backlog of work for the fire department’s fire safety division, Williams said the threesome was able to collect almost $190,000 in payments.
According to emails released last year by The Associated Press and other sites, Cordasco was internally questioning the ethics of giving precedence to other projects even as he was allegedly involved in a bribery scheme.
In response to a City Hall request for a rushed inspection at the mega-development Hudson Yards in Manhattan, Cordasco sent a letter to other heads stating that the request was “extremely unfair to the applicants who had been waiting at least eight weeks for their inspections.”
Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said in a statement that the department will “fully cooperate” with the inquiry and that “anything less will not be tolerated.” He also added that each of his staff members has taken an oath to behave honourably and morally.
Adams’s main legal advisor abruptly quit over the weekend. That occurred a few days after the head of the New York Police Department resigned due to his phone being confiscated by federal investigators.
