Two Former New York Fire Chiefs Face Bribery Charges Tied to Safety Inspections

Two former chiefs of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) have been charged with bribery and corruption for allegedly expediting access to fire safety inspections for preferred customers in exchange for payments.

Anthony Saccavino and Brian Cordasco were indicted and arrested Monday for their alleged roles as chiefs of FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Prevention from about 2021 through 2023. They allegedly solicited and accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for fast-tracking inspections and approvals for certain individuals and companies with matters pending before the BFP.

“Saccavino and Cordasco undermined the public trust and put their own greed above the interests of the taxpayers they swore to serve,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in announcing the indictment.

According to prosecutors, Saccavino and Cordasco solicited and accepted bribes from a retired FDNY firefighter, Henry Santiago Jr., who ran The Santiago Co., an unsanctioned “expediting” business. Prosecutors claim Santiago promised his customers that he could “expedite” their fire safety plan reviews and inspection dates with the BFP, in exchange for payment. Prosecutors said Santiago made this claim even though the BFP generally addressed applications on a first-come, first-served basis, and notwithstanding the significant backlog that BFP had at the time.

After a customer hired Santiago, Saccavino and Cordasco allegedly directed BFP personnel to prioritize that customer’s plan review or inspection request. According to the indictment, they justified the priority requests within the FDNY by lying to their BFP subordinates about the basis for their directions to prioritize certain projects over others. Santiago was paid by the customers of his company for this “expediting” and, in turn, Santiago made payments to Saccavino and Cordasco to obtain the promised preferential treatment, according to prosecutors.

Collectively, Saccavino and Cordasco, and Santiago allegedly received more than $190,000 in payments in connection with this scheme, according to the indictment.

The charges contained in the indictment against Saccavino and Cordasco are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Santiago, of Staten Island, New York, pled guilty on September 10, 2024, to bribery and wire fraud. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Santiago agreed to cooperate with the government.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.