Anthony Saccavino, a Hearth Division chief convicted in a scheme to fast-track constructing inspections in return for bribes, was sentenced Wednesday to 36 months behind bars.
Manhattan Federal Decide Lewis Liman additionally ordered Saccavino to pay $150,000 in fines, and $57,000 — the quantity he raked in from the scheme — in forfeiture, in keeping with the U.S. Lawyer for the Southern District stated. Saccavino should give up on Aug. 19.
“Anthony Saccavino undermined the New York City Fire Department, an institution he swore to serve,” interim U.S. Lawyer Jay Clayton stated in a press release. “Chief Saccavino led a pay-to-play bribery scheme that would offend the sensibilities of every hardworking New Yorker. Public officials who violate the public trust for financial gain will be pursued vigorously by our office and our law enforcement partners.”
Saccavino pleaded responsible to conspiring to solicit and obtain bribes earlier this yr.
His co-conspirator, ex-FDNY Deputy Chief Brian Cordasco, was sentenced to twenty months in jail in March.
Brian Cordasco is pictured in 2009. (Ken Murray / New York Each day Information)
The 2 chiefs had been accused in September of accumulating hundreds of {dollars} in bribes by rushing up inspections by the FDNY’s Bureau of Hearth Prevention. Prosecutors stated Saccavino took in almost $60,000 as a part of the scheme.
Each Saccavino and Cordasco oversaw security inspections for big tasks. Prosecutors stated the 2 took benefit of a backlog of inspections from COVID to line their pockets.
Retired Firefighter Henry Santiago acted as an middleman to rake within the bribes, attorneys with the Manhattan U.S. Lawyer’s workplace stated.
Prosecutors known as Saccavino the “mastermind” of the scheme of their sentencing memo.
“Through his actions, Saccavino undermined the public’s trust in our government generally but more specifically in the institution of the FDNY itself,” Clayton wrote within the memo. “He undermined the public’s belief that the FDNY — and the hardworking men and women who make up its rank and file — should serve all New Yorkers, no matter their connections to power or wealth.”
Saccavino beforehand requested a sentence of two years’ probation.
Lawyer Joseph Caldarera known as the sentence of his “American hero” shopper “unfortunate.”
Town’s Division of Investigation, which additionally probed the chiefs, applauded the choose’s resolution.
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that City officials who monetize their positions and give preferential treatment in exchange for bribe payments will face serious consequences, including criminal prosecution and imprisonment,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber stated in a press release.
The 2 chiefs had been charged with their crimes simply days earlier than Mayor Adams was indicted on separate fees that he exploited his energy by finishing up favors for the Turkish authorities, together with fast-tracking hearth security precautions on the brand new Turkish Home diplomatic middle close to the U.N., in trade for unlawful marketing campaign contributions.
The U.S. Division of Justice labored to drop the mayor’s case, and it was dismissed final month.
Initially Printed: Might 14, 2025 at 4:07 PM EDT
