A former Big Apple Fire Department boss dude got hit with a three-year prison sentence for taking mad cash bribes to speed up fire safety inspections. This dude, Anthony Saccavino, 61, copped to the scheme back in January when he was in charge of the Fire Prevention Bureau. This bureau is all about making sure fire safety systems are up to code in NYC, you know? Saccavino and his homie, Brian Cordasco, scored $190,000 in bribes between 2021 and 2023. That’s a whole lot of green, man.
The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Jay Clayton, called out Saccavino for running a shady pay-to-play operation that would make any New Yorker’s blood boil. This retired firefighter dude was also involved, running some off-the-books “expediting” side hustle to push through over 30 projects that got the VIP treatment. Cordasco got busted with Saccavino and took a 20-month bid back in March. And get this, Mayor Eric Adams got caught up in some bribery mess too, but his case got dropped later on. Saccavino not only has to serve time, but he also gotta cough up $150,000 and give back $57,000 from the bribes he pocketed. His lawyer ain’t saying nothing about it though, probably laying low after all this drama.
So, like, Saccavino was doing some shady stuff with his boy Cordasco, taking big bucks to cut corners on fire safety inspections. The U.S. Attorney wasn’t having any of it, calling out Saccavino for playing dirty in a city where safety is no joke. And then you got this retired firefighter dude playing middleman, making sure all those projects got the green light. Cordasco took a shorter sentence earlier in the year, but Saccavino got hit with a three-year bid and some hefty fines. And don’t even get me started on Mayor Adams getting tangled up in this mess too. It’s like a whole soap opera playing out in the city that never sleeps.
In the end, Saccavino’s shady dealings caught up with him, and now he’s paying the price. The U.S. Attorney didn’t hold back, slamming him for running a corrupt operation that put New Yorkers at risk. It’s a cautionary tale that shows how greed can lead to some serious consequences. But hey, at least justice was served, right? Or maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there’s still a lot more to this story that we haven’t heard yet. Who knows what other scandals are lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple? Only time will tell.