Two former New York City Fire Department (FDNY) chiefs are in custody, accused of soliciting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to provide preferential treatment to certain builders and developers.
Anthony Saccavino and Brian Cordasco were arrested on bribery, corruption and false statements charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Monday.
The two, and an unnamed third party, are accused of soliciting and accepting bribe payments from at least 2021 through 2023, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams told reporters. The amount of bribes is allegedly more than $190,000, which was allegedly paid in exchange for “priority access to the Bureau of Fire Prevention,” Williams said.
Williams explained that the bureau’s approval is often required in order for buildings to be open to the public or occupied, and that they are supposed to operate on a first-come-first-served basis.
“They allegedly created a VIP lane for faster service that could only be accessed with bribes,” Williams said.
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The arrests come amid a widening corruption investigation of New York City’s government.
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An indictment against the men obtained by AP said they were former chiefs for the New York City Fire Department Bureau of Fire Prevention. The bureau is responsible for regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems throughout New York City and ensuring fire safety regulations are obeyed.
It said they were charged with conspiracy to solicit a bribe, solicitation and receive of a bribe, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and making false statements in connection with a scheme to solicit and accept tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies.
This is a developing story. Please check back here for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
