By Josephine Stratman
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Anthony Saccavino, a Fire Department chief convicted in a scheme to fast-track building inspections in return for bribes, was sentenced Wednesday to three years behind bars.
Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Liman also ordered Saccavino to pay $150,000 in fines, and $57,000 — the amount he raked in from the scheme — in forfeiture, according to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District. Saccavino must surrender on Aug. 19 .
“Anthony Saccavino undermined the New York City Fire Department, an institution he swore to serve,” Interim U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “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 guilty to conspiring to solicit and receive bribes earlier this year.
His co-conspirator, ex-FDNY Deputy Chief Brian Cordasco, was sentenced to 20 months in prison in March.
The two chiefs were accused in September of collecting thousands of dollars in bribes by speeding up inspections by the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Prevention . Prosecutors said Saccavino took in nearly $60,000 as part of the scheme.
Both Saccavino and Cordasco oversaw safety inspections for large projects. Prosecutors said the two took advantage of a backlog of inspections from COVID to line their pockets.
Retired Firefighter Henry Santiago acted as an intermediary to rake in the bribes, attorneys with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors called Saccavino the “mastermind” of the scheme in 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 in 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 previously requested a sentence of two years’ probation.
Attorney Joseph Caldarera called the sentence of his “American hero” client “unfortunate.”
“Mr. Saccavino took a plea deal because he believed it was in the best interest of his family,” Caldarera said in an email Wednesday. “He made the difficult decision to protect his family from further hardship and uncertainty.”
The city’s Department of Investigation, which also probed the chiefs, applauded the judge’s decision.
“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 said in a statement.
The two chiefs were charged with their crimes just days before Mayor Adams was indicted on separate charges that he exploited his power by carrying out favors for the Turkish government, including fast-tracking fire safety precautions on the new Turkish House diplomatic center near the UN, in exchange for illegal campaign contributions.
The U.S. Department of Justice worked to drop the mayor’s case, and it was dismissed last month.
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