A former FDNY chief who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge after federal prosecutors accused him and a colleague of taking more than $100,000 in bribes was sentenced to 20 months in prison in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday.
Last fall, Brian Cordasco admitted in court that between 2021 and 2023, he and others accepted bribes to fast-track fire safety inspections and reviews. A federal grand jury indicted him and Anthony Saccavino, another former chief, on conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud charges. Prosecutors also accused them of lying to law enforcement. Saccavino pleaded guilty earlier this year.
On Monday, Cordasco expressed remorse for betraying the public’s trust and hurting his family and community.
“I’ve learned a very hard lesson,” he said.
Cordasco also recognized the harm he had caused to the employees in his former bureau at the FDNY, who he said “always do the right thing” and “deserve more from one of their leaders.”
“The seriousness of my actions upended the entire bureau,” he said.
Cordasco and Saccavino both worked as chiefs in the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Prevention, which ensures that commercial and residential buildings in the city have proper fire safety systems. The bureau also reviews design plans for new buildings and inspects systems once they’re installed.
According to prosecutors, Cordasco and Saccavino abused their power as the two highest-ranking members of the unit. The indictment accused them of accepting bribes from a retired firefighter who ran a business promising customers that he could “expedite” their fire safety reviews and inspections. In return, the indictment alleged, the chiefs prioritized reviews and inspections for the retired firefighters’ clients instead of conducting their assessments on a first-come, first-served basis, like they were supposed to. Prosecutors said the scheme yielded more than $190,000, split between Cordasco and Saccavino.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York asked the judge presiding over Cordasco’s case to sentence him to 3-and-a-half to four years, because of his high rank, the number of times and prolonged period of time that he accepted bribes, and his initial lying to the FBI about the crime. Assistant U.S. attorney Jessica Greenwood said the former chief had “no reason other than greed” to break the law, given his $250,000 salary and pension, which she pointed out was not affected by the conviction.
Cordasco’s defense attorney, David Stern, said his client should receive a shorter sentence because of his many years as a public servant. He also said that after the former chief left the department, he dedicated his time to the nonprofit Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to homebound seniors. He said members of the organization wrote a letter of support for Cordasco, as well as various family members and friends.
“Brian Cordasco is basically a good person who did a bad thing,” Stern said. “Your sentence should reflect all of the good in his life weighed against the bad.”
Loved ones filled multiple rows of benches in the gallery of the courtroom for his sentencing. Judge Lewis Liman said his sentence was a reflection of the seriousness of Cordasco’s crime, not his character, and was meant to send a message to society that corruption should be deterred. He also ordered the former chief to pay a $100,000 fine.
“You betrayed the trust of the fire department and the people of New York for personal gain and greed,” Liman said. “If the conduct you engaged in became normalized, it would breed cynicism.”
Cordasco and Saccavino were indicted in mid-September, just days before Mayor Eric Adams. The indictment came amid a flurry of raids on top members of the mayor’s administration, prompting a series of departures. Adams’ indictment accused him of pressuring FDNY officials to allow a new skyscraper called the Turkish House, which would house the Turkish consulate, to open in time for a visit from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, even though the building hadn’t yet passed a fire safety inspection. The mayor pleaded not guilty and has denied wrongdoing.
This story has been updated with new information.
