By Bill Carey
FireRescue1
NEW YORK — A retired FDNY chief pleaded guilty to conspiracy for accepting bribes to fast-track safety inspections.
On Oct. 8, Brian Cordasco entered a guilty plea, admitting that he took over $5,000 from 2021 to 2023 to expedite safety inspections, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.
Two retired FDNY chiefs stand accused of accepting bribes to fast-track fire safety approvals in a corruption scandal that allegedly netted them nearly $200,000
In September, Cordasco and retired chief Anthony Saccavino were arrested after a year-long federal corruption probe, WABC reported. He faces up to five years in prison.
Cordasco’s plea doesn’t require cooperation against his co-defendant, Saccavino, but prosecutors say they conspired to create a VIP line for paid fire inspections.
Trending
More than 200 first responders battled the two-story row home blaze for about three hours, with four victims dying at the scene and two more pronounced dead at the hospital, as fire marshals investigate a lithium-ion battery found at the scene
Aurora Engine 7 arrived to find smoke showing from the second floor and a resident reporting a child trapped in an Elkhart Way apartment
The two-month crackdown uncovered uncertified batteries and illegally fast e-bikes across more than 200 shops, coming as lithium-ion battery fires have killed multiple New Yorkers this year
Documents obtained through a FOIA request show Norwich officials planned to remove Taftville, Occum and Laurel Hill from 911 response and consolidate volunteers into one department, following the earlier shutdown of Yantic