(Bloomberg) -- Two former New York Fire Department officials have been charged with bribery and corruption as federal investigations continue to engulf the administration of Mayor Eric Adams.
Former FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention chiefs Anthony Saccavino and Brian Cordasco are accused of sharing in more than $190,000 worth of bribes in exchange for providing preferential treatment on building inspections and approvals between 2021 and 2023 for at least 30 projects, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in New York on Monday.
The men used their power as senior members of the FDNY to allow some people to “cut to the front of the line,” Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference Monday. “That’s classic pay-to-play corruption and it will not be tolerated by this office.”
The charges come as the Adams administration faces multiple federal investigations, one of which led to the resignation of the city’s police commissioner last week. Then on Saturday, Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel to the mayor’s office, abruptly quit, saying she could no longer “effectively serve in my position.”
Saccavino and Cordasco, who have 50 years FDNY experience between them, allegedly accepted bribes from a retired firefighter, who ran an “expediting business.” Saccavino and Cordasco allegedly took a cut from the retired firefighter in exchange for prioritizing his clients’ projects, prosecutors said. The retired firefighter has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with federal prosecutors, Williams said.
Cordasco and Saccavino are charged with bribery, corruption, fraud and making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both men entered not guilty pleas and were expected to be released on $250,000 bonds following a pair of court hearings Monday afternoon.
Saccavino’s attorney, Joe Caldarera, said his client was an “American hero” and first responder during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He called the charges “surprising and distressing.”
Frank Rothman, an attorney for Cordasco, called his client a dedicated firefighter who had served the people of New York “fearlessly and faithfully” for two decades.
A spokesperson for the Mayor’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said “every member of the FDNY takes a sworn oath to conduct themselves honestly and ethically.”
“Anything less will not be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
Four seperate federal probes have embroiled the mayor’s office over the past year and led to searches of the homes of several senior administration aides.
As part of a corruption probe that culminated in Monday’s charges, FBI agents in February raided the homes of Cordasco and Saccavino, according to people familiar with the matter. That followed a referral from FDNY to the city’s Department of Investigation in 2023 detailing the bribery allegations.
The DOI also sealed their offices at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn. After being placed on suspension following the raids, both men retired this spring.
One of the key elements in the investigation involves misuse of a “City Hall List” — an internal priority document used by the FDNY to expedite certain projects at the request of city officials. Investigators allege that Cordasco and Saccavino falsely claimed that some of the projects they were fast-tracking had been flagged by City Hall when, in reality, these projects were prioritized in exchange for bribes.
Read the Indictment Here
The list, which typically included significant developments like schools and hospitals to a movie theater and restaurants, was manipulated to justify illegal favoritism, the government alleges.
In 2023, Jim Walden, a lawyer for former Fire Prevention head Joseph Jardin revealed that there had been attempts to expedite approvals for the new Turkish consulate after Mayor Adams contacted the agency.
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