Two one-time chiefs of the New York City Fire Department were placed under arrest earlier this week, as they’re being charged in a major corruption scandal.
The men, 49-year-old Brian Cordasco of Staten Island and 59-year-old Anthony Saccavino of Manhattan, are facing charges of corruption, bribery and false statements.
The charges stem from an alleged conspiracy to solicit and accept bribe payments from between 2021 and 2023 at least.
Each of the men were booked and then released on $250,000 bail after they entered pleas of not guilty.
These arrests come as there are multiple federal investigations still ongoing into New York City Mayor Eric Adams and many of his top deputies. One of those inquiries is focused, in part, on whether the Adams administration quickly did fire safety inspections at the Turkish consulate in exchange for some illegal contributions.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney based in Manhattan, wouldn’t say whether this case involving the former chiefs was related to “any other investigation we may or may not be doing.”
That being said, he did put people on notice that they are pursuing all corruption charges. As he said this week at a press conference:
“We are determined to address it from root to branch, and our work is far from done.”
Both Saccavino and Cordasco were at one time the fire chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention. That department of the Fire Department is responsible for regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems all across the city, and for also ensuring that people and businesses observe all fire safety regulations.
Joseph Caldarera, the attorney for Saccavino, commented outside of the courthouse on Monday, saying his client is “an American hero.” He was a first responder during 9/11 and has been with the city’s Fire Department since back in 1995.
According to the attorney, the prosecutors “got the wrong guy.” As Caldarera said of his client:
“He vehemently denies all of the allegations against him today. 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.”
Frank Rothman, the attorney who’s representing Cordasco, also defended his client outside the courtroom, saying he “has been a dedicated firefighter for two decades, serving fearlessly and faithfully. This is indeed a sad and troubling day, but I’m glad he’s on his way home.”
The indictment against the two men doesn’t reference any project that’s linked to the Turkish government. That being said, it does include references to a “City Hall List” that the fire department used to “track inquiries and requests from City Hall stakeholders,” giving priority to those specific projects.
Adams has denied in the past that a priority list like that exists.
Last year, another former fire chief in the city filed a lawsuit that claimed that list grew substantially during Adams’ tenure, becoming “a mechanism to press the FDNY to permit politically connected developers to cut the inspection line.”
