Former FDNY chiefs' arrests on bribery charges draw condemnation that Adams brushes off

As New York Mayor Eric Adams met reporters to discuss his annual Mayor's Management Report Monday, federal prosecutors a few blocks away laid out a corruption case involving two former top fire department officials – the latest in a series of City Hall-adjacent probes causing headaches for the mayor.

While there is no indication that the case is tied to any of the four federal corruption investigations encircling Adams, high-ranking members of his administration, and his 2021 campaign, the Monday arrests and federal charges of the retired New York City Fire Department fire chiefs are likely to only increase the already immense pressure on Adams. This latest City Hall-adjacent corruption allegation drew swift condemnation from other city officials, including New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and state Sen. Jessica Ramos – the latter of whom just launched her mayoral campaign.

Former FDNY Assistant Chief Anthony Saccavino and former Deputy Assistant Chief Brian Cordasco are accused of allegedly conspiring with a retired firefighter to fast-track construction plan reviews and building inspections in exchange for at least $190,000 in bribe payments, according to a six-count indictment unsealed Monday morning by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. For nearly two years, the men – then the top chiefs of an FDNY division tasked with regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in buildings across the city – allegedly solicited and accepted bribes from a retired firefighter who ran an “expediting business.”  Customers, largely referred by Saccavino and Cordasco, would allegedly pay the company to speed up their FDNY building inspections – a task the men facilitated by pulling strings through the power of their positions. Saccavino and Cordasco were also charged with lying to federal agents in February about their involvement in the scheme. 

“They allegedly created a VIP lane for faster service that could only be accessed with bribes,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference following the indictment’s release. “That’s classic pay-to-play corruption, and it will not be tolerated by this office.” News of Saccavino and Cordasco’s arrests was first reported by the New York Post Monday morning.

The indictment also mentioned the existence of a list of projects prioritized for building inspections that was in existence from at least 2021, prior to Adams coming into office, and through “in or about” 2022, when Adams was in office, according to the indictment. Following reporting last fall about a federal inquiry into Adams’ campaign dealings with Turkish officials, which included looking at a VIP inspections list, Adams administration officials repeatedly denied the existence of what was known as the “DMO list” for Deputy Mayor’s Office. Monday’s indictment noted that an FDNY priority list was referred to by the department and others in city government as the “DMO List” or the “City Hall List.”

Asked again about this list at his own press conference on Monday, Adams denied that his administration had a “DMO List.” “These allegations of these actions started in 2021, okay? And from what I read, and it was a brief reading, they stated that that was a terminology that the FDNY used,” he said. “We stated it then and we’re going to state it again, that this administration did not have a list named like that, and we made that clear.”

Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi added, “There is not a ‘DMO list.’ There is a system that was set up by this administration to systemically address what had been a longstanding backlog,” she said, adding that that system is laid out in the administration’s “Get Stuff Built” report.

News of the arrests broke at the tail end of a Brooklyn Democratic Party fundraiser, which attracted a number of citywide elected officials and candidates. Jumaane Williams, after learning the details of the charges, said he is “exhausted” by the latest corruption scandal. “I’m not sure how you continue to govern with every day more corrupt arrests, more corrupt suspicions,” Williams told reporters in Brooklyn, expressing doubt in the capabilities of Adams. “I don't think the mayor is handling – has handled this. I don't know if he has the capability to handle all that's going on now.” He likened the many investigations to Tammany Hall.

Williams would be next in line to become mayor – on a temporary basis at least – if Adams resigned or were forced to step down. He said that he is prepared to step into the role if necessary, calling it a part of the job. But Williams said that’s not where his head is currently. “My only focus right now is trying to push a way for folks to have trust in government again,” he said.

Ramos, who also attended the Brooklyn Democratic Party fundraiser, also expressed frustration with the mayor – but did not explicitly call on him to resign. “It's one disappointment after another with this administration,” Ramos said. “The mayor should know better so as to know who he's vetting and hiring for such important posts.” Asked if she felt Adams could still effectively govern and if he should step down, Ramos called the prospect “a tough conversation to have.”

The FDNY arrests are the latest in a series of corruption probes adjacent to Adams and his administration. Damian Williams would not say whether the new arrests have any bearing on an existing federal probe into the mayor’s ties to Turkey. “I cannot comment on any other investigation that we may or may not be doing,” he told reporters. He also wouldn’t comment on another investigation reportedly dealing with corruption in and around the New York City Police Department that involves some of Adams’ top aides. “I feel comfortable speaking to the public when we have something to announce, like we do today,” the U.S. attorney said. “I don't have any other announcements to make.”