Ex-FDNY chiefs indicted in 'pay-to-play corruption' scheme

(It's unrelated to the Adams campaign's fire safety scandal) [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] [Ex-FDNY chiefs indicted on federal bribery charges in 'pay-to-play corruption' scheme]( [the FDNY logo spray-painted]( Federal prosecutors this week indicted two former FDNY chiefs for allegedly accepting at least $190,000 in bribes in exchange for fast-tracking approvals of buildings’ fire alarm systems between 2021 and 2023. Another retired firefighter who acted as a middle man pleaded guilty and is cooperating with investigators, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. "They allegedly created a VIP lane for faster service that could only be accessed through bribes," Williams said. "That’s classic pay-to-play corruption, and it will not be tolerated by this office." When the investigation [was first revealed]( earlier this year, Mayor Eric Adams was under scrutiny for allegedly prioritizing fire safety reviews [for developers and campaign donors](. Adams is not mentioned in the indictment and is not implicated in the former chiefs’ purported scheme. But the indictment says his administration maintained a list that was used to fast-track projects based on requests from the deputy mayor’s office. It was often called "the City Hall list," prosecutors said. Adams said Monday after the charges were announced [that no such list existed](. [Read more.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- More politics stories to know this week And now there are four. Jessica Ramos, a progressive state senator from Queens, has joined the increasingly crowded field of Democratic candidates preparing to challenge Mayor Adams in next year’s primary. [Read more](. Investigation overload. The Adams campaign has asked the city’s campaign finance watchdog for more time to respond to questions about apparent sloppy recordkeeping because they're too busy dealing with a federal inquiry. [Read more](. "I have concluded that I can no longer effectively serve in my position." Lisa Zornberg, Mayor Adams' chief counsel who was tasked with defending him in the aforementioned federal corruption investigation into his 2021 campaign, resigned abruptly last weekend. [Read more](. Over before it began. Randy Mastro, Mayor Adams' nominee to be the city's top lawyer, withdrew from the running last week after many City Council members opposed his track record of right-wing clients and causes. [Read more](. The war on (digital) paperwork. A new City Council bill would scrap Mayor Adams' new policy requiring other elected officials to fill out a multipage online form before they can interact with members of his administration. [Read more](. Reparations, possibly. The City Council last week passed a bill greenlighting a study on the legacy of slavery in New York City, including possible payment of monetary and non-monetary reparations. [Read more](. How low can congestion tolls go? Gov. Kathy Hochul, who indefinitely paused the congestion pricing program that was passed into law in 2019, has floated the idea of lowering the toll from $15. But experts warned that amending the fee structure could reboot a bureaucratic process that might kill any chance that the tolls will launch in the near future. [Read more](. New ballots for New Jersey. The Garden State's county line ballot system — which gives party-backed candidates a leg up in primaries — could be scrapped following a partial settlement in the legal challenge to the system. [Read more](. "What matters to me, at least for my first time voting, is getting proper information rather than memes." WNYC’s Community Partnerships Desk spoke with five Gen Z New Yorkers about the issues that matter most to them ahead of their first time voting in a presidential election. [Read more](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [the logo for the Brian Lehrer daily politics podcast]( [Adams Administration Investigations Explainer]( Emma Fitzsimmons, City Hall bureau chief for The New York Times, offers an explainer of who in Mayor Adams' inner circle is being investigated, what she knows about the investigations and how they might affect the mayor's agenda. [LISTEN]( Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential political coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.