Two now-retired FDNY chiefs were arrested early Monday morning following a year-long corruption investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Retired Chief Brian Cordasco was arrested at home on Staten Island and retired Chief Anthony Saccavino was arrested at home in Manhattan, the sources said.
The FBI had searched their homes and offices earlier this year . The FDNY placed the chiefs on modified duty at the time. The New York City Department of Investigation searched FDNY headquarters as well.
The investigation focused on whether the chiefs took money to help expedite building inspections, the sources said.
Saccavino and Cordasco “repeatedly abused their positions of trust as high-ranking officials in the New York City Fire Department” by soliciting and accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court.
The two men were chiefs with the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention that regulates the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings. For nearly two years, the indictment said, Saccavino and Cordasco misused this authority for their own financial gain.