New York fire chiefs charged in bribery scheme

Federal authorities arrested and charged two chiefs in the New York City Fire Department in a corruption scheme, alleging they took at least $190,000 in bribes to expedite FDNY building inspections.

Brian Cordasco and Anthony Saccavino are accused of secretly partnering with a co-conspirator to start a fire safety company while the pair were both FDNY chiefs.

Businesses would pay the company to speed up their building inspections with the fire department, according to an indictment unsealed Monday morning by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Cordasco and Saccavino would refer customers to the company, use their government jobs to pull strings and then get a kickback from the company.

The scheme is alleged to have lasted from July 2021, during Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, through early 2023, under Mayor Eric Adams.Monday’s news comes as scandal engulfs City Hall.

Members of Adams’ inner circle had their phones taken by federal agents this month, leading to the resignation of his police commissioner and chief counsel.

Federal agents raided the homes of the two chiefs and FDNY headquarters in February, when the broad outline of the scene was first reported by the New York Post and other outlets.

The scheme worked, in part, because some projects were expedited by the FDNY in response to requests from political stakeholders, and added to what’s known as the “City Hall List” or “DMO List,” referring to the deputy mayor of operations.