Federal agents arrested two former Fire Department chiefs on Monday on bribery and corruption charges, sources with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York confirmed to amNewYork Metro.
Chief of Fire Prevention Anthony Saccavino and Chief Brian Cordasco, who worked at the Fire Prevention Bureau, were charged in connection with a long-running investigation out of the Southern District office. The indictment comes as Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is facing what appears to be four separate federal investigations, two of which burst into public view earlier this month.
The Fire Prevention Bureau regulates and inspects fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential structures around the city. According to the federal indictment, Saccavino and Cordasco allegedly “misused [their] authority” in overseeing the bureau “for their own financial gain.”
Prosecutors said Saccavino and Cordasco — both of whom retired from the FDNY earlier this year — allegedly “solicited and accepted” more than $190,000 in bribe payments between 2021 and 2023 from a retired FDNY firefighter — Henry Santiago Jr., now a cooperating individual who pleaded guilty in the scheme — who operated a business and purportedly expedited planned Fire Prevention inspections.
According to the indictment, 30 projects, including apartment buildings, restaurants, bars, and hotels, had their required FDNY inspections expedited through the scheme.
“As we allege, these defendants used their power as senior members of the FDNY to let some people cut to the front of the line,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams at a Sept. 16 press conference in Lower Manhattan. “They allegedly created a VIP lane for faster service that could only be accessed the bribes. That’s classic pay-to-play corruption, and it will not be tolerated by this office.”
Saccavino and Cordasco allegedly accepted the bribes from Santiago Jr. numerous times, the indictment noted — often through dinners at steakhouses in Manhattan and even at the Bureau of Fire Prevention headquarters in Brooklyn itself.
To cover their tracks, law enforcement sources said, the two chiefs deposited the payments in different bank accounts. Saccavino allegedly put his kickbacks in an account purportedly owned by his wife’s company, while Cordasco made his deposits in a corporate account for his own purported company.
“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,” said Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker in a statement.
The scheme came to light in November 2023 when FDNY officials notified the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI) of a possible scheme involving improper payments to ranking leaders of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, according to DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber.
“When our inquiry into the referral here revealed potential criminal conduct, we promptly teamed up with the US Attorney’s Office and with the FBI, our long-standing partners on so many matters, so that we could investigate this case together,” Strauber said.
Requests for comments from the Mayor’s office are pending.
Using City Hall reports to cover tracks
The scheme took place even as City Hall came under fire for a reported list of projects — known as the Deputy Mayor for Operations or “DMO” List — which officials had directed the Fire Prevention Units to fast-track for inspections.
City Hall has repeatedly denied the existence of the list, which came into the public eye late last year amid reports that it was being eyed as part of a separate federal investigation into the mayor’s 2021 campaign.
Amid reports of the list, however, Cordasco sent an internal FDNY email in protest, saying expediting inspections on City Hall’s behalf was “extremely unfair to the applicants who have been waiting at least 8 weeks for their inspection.”
Investigators concluded that Saccavino and Cordasco allegedly “used the City Hall List to conceal their involvement” in the bribery scheme. None of the projects for which they allegedly took bribes were on the City Hall list or requested by City Hall or senior FDNY officials, the indictment noted.
Saccavino and Cordasco’s homes were raided in February in connection with the probe. The FDNY subsequently placed both on modified duty before they chose to retire; they were each earning salaries in excess of $250,000 a year at the time.
According to the indictment, when questioned by federal agents in February, Saccavino and Cordasco allegedly “made false statements in an effort to conceal their involvement in the bribery scheme.”
Saccavino and Cordasco were formally charged Monday with conspiracy to solicit and receive a bribe by an agent of organization receiving federal funds; solicitation and receipt of a bribe; conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud; honest services wire fraud; and false statements.
While the charges against the chiefs appear to be unconnected to SDNY’s probe into the mayor’s 2021 campaign, the chiefs’ alleged use of the DMO list to conceal their scheme is a notable connection.
The probe is at least in part looking at whether Adams’ campaign worked with the government of Turkey to funnel illegal campaign donations into its coffers in for favors. One of the possible favors being looked at is Adams expediting approvals for a Turkish consulate building in Midtown Manhattan in 2021, when Adams was still Brooklyn Broough President, but after he won that year’s Democratic primary.
Asked about that investigation on Monday, U.S. Attorney Williams said he could not comment on any other probe that is ongoing.
This is a developing story; check with amNY.com later for further updates.
