AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas' attorney general launched an investigation Monday into Houston's electric utility over allegations of fraud and waste following Hurricane Beryl, adding to the mounting scrutiny after widespread power outages left millions without electricity for days.
The latest investigation of CenterPoint Energy comes after state regulators and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have also demanded answers about storm preparations and the response to Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane that knocked out power to nearly 3 million people around the nation’s fourth-largest city.
The storm was blamed for at least three dozen deaths, including those of some residents who died in homes that were left without air conditioning in sweltering heat after the storm's passage.
“My office is aware of concerning allegations regarding CenterPoint and how its conduct affected readiness during Hurricane Beryl,” Ken Paxton, the state's Republican attorney general, said in a statement. “If the investigation uncovers unlawful activity, that activity will be met with the full force of the law.”
The utility pledged its support of the investigation.
“We look forward to cooperating with the Texas Attorney General or any other agency and have made clear our commitment to upholding the values of our company,” CenterPoint spokesperson John Sousa said.
Paxton did not cite any specific allegations of waste or fraud in his announcement and his office did not respond to requests for comment.
Abbott has demanded answers from CenterPoint for what he called its slow restoration efforts and poor communication with customers in the days leading up to the storm. The state's Public Utility Commission has launched its own investigation, and lawmakers grilled the company’s top executive over its failures at a hearing last month.
CenterPoint has largely defended its storm preparedness and said that it deployed thousands of additional workers to help restore power. The utility provider has also begun a monthslong plan to replace hundreds of wooden utility poles and double its tree-trimming efforts after the governor pressed for swift action.
Beryl damaged power lines and uprooted trees when it made its Texas landfall on July 8. It’s the latest natural disaster to hit Houston after a powerful storm ripped through the area in May, leaving nearly 1 million people without power.
Many residents fear that chronic outages have become the norm after Texas’ power grid failed amid a deadly winter storm in 2021.
CenterPoint has previously faced questions over the reliability of Houston's power grid.
In 2008, Hurricane Ike, a Category 2 storm, knocked out power to more than 2 people million and it took 19 days to fully restore electricity. The city of Houston created a task force initiative to investigate the company's response and determined it needed to automate parts of its grid to minimize outages.
CenterPoint received millions of dollars in federal funding to implement this technology years ago. However, according to executive vice president Jason Ryan, it's still a work in progress.
Some utility experts and critics say the company hasn’t adapted its technology fast enough to meet the extreme weather conditions Texas will continue to face.
Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Two former New York City Fire Department chiefs were arrested Monday on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to guarantee that the department's fire-safety division gave preferential treatment to some individuals and companies.
Anthony Saccavino, 59, of Manhattan and Brian Cordasco, 49, of Staten Island were arrested on bribery, corruption and false statements charges alleging that they solicited and accepted the bribe payments from at least 2021 through 2023.
They each were freed on $250,000 bail after entering not guilty pleas before a federal judge. Outside the courthouse, neither commented.
The arrests came as multiple ongoing federal investigations swirl around Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies, including one inquiry that appears at least partly focused on whether the administration sped up fire safety inspections at the Turkish consulate in exchange for illegal contributions.
Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to say whether the case against the former fire chiefs was related to “any other investigation we may or may not be doing.” But he put people on notice that his office is continuing to pursue any corruption.
“We are determined to address it from root to branch, and our work is far from done,” he said at a news conference.
Cordasco and Saccavino were former chiefs of the city Fire Department's Bureau of Fire Prevention, which is responsible for regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems throughout New York City and ensuring fire safety regulations are obeyed.
Outside the courthouse, attorney Joseph Caldarera called his client, Saccavino, “an American hero,” a 9/11 first responder who had been with the department since 1995. Prosecutors, he said, "got the wrong guy.”
“He vehemently denies all of the allegations against him today,” the lawyer said. “Is this connected to City Hall? Is this connected to Eric Adams? I'm sure that's the next big question. At this time we don't know and we don't have an answer to that question.”
Attorney Frank Rothman, representing Cordasco, told reporters that his client “has been a dedicated firefighter for two decades, serving fearlessly and faithfully.”
He added: “This is indeed a sad and troubling day, but I'm glad he's on his way home.”
While the indictment makes no reference to projects linked to the Turkish government, it does refer to a “City Hall List” allegedly used by the fire department to “track inquiries and requests from City Hall stakeholders” and give priority to those projects. Adams, a Democrat, has previously denied the existence of the priority list.
In a lawsuit filed last year, a former fire chief said the list had grown substantially under Adams, becoming “a mechanism to press the FDNY to permit politically connected developers to cut the inspection line.”
Williams said at Monday's news conference that Cordasco and Saccavino allegedly used the list to "excuse or cover up the way in which they were pressuring other folks to expedite the matters they were being bribed to expedite.”
According to a news release, Saccavino and Cardasco solicited and accepted bribes from a retired firefighter who ran an unsanctioned “expediting” business that promised customers that he could fast-track their plan reviews and inspection dates in exchange for a fee. Williams said the retired firefighter has pleaded guilty to charges in the case.
The trio managed to collect over $190,000 in payments in a scheme they launched after the coronavirus pandemic created a backlog of work for the fire department's fire-safety division, Williams said.
Even as Cordasco allegedly participated in a bribery scheme, he was raising concern internally about the ethics of granting priority to other projects, according to emails obtained last year by The Associated Press and other outlets.
Following a request by City Hall to expedite an inspection at Hudson Yards, a Manhattan mega-development, Cordasco wrote to other chiefs that it was “extremely unfair to the applicants who had been waiting at least eight weeks for their inspections.”
In a statement, Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said the department will “fully cooperate” with the investigation, adding each of his employees has sworn an oath to honest and ethical behavior and that "anything less will not be tolerated.”
Over the weekend, the top legal adviser to Adams abruptly resigned. That came days after the head of the New York Police Department resigned after federal investigators seized his phone.
Associated Press Writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.
Retired New York City Fire Department Chief Brian Cordasco leaves federal court in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Retired New York City Fire Department Chief Brian Cordasco, right, and his lawyer Frank Rothman, leave federal court in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Retired New York City Fire Department Chief Brian Cordasco, right, and his lawyer Frank Rothman, leave federal court in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Retired New York City Fire Department Chief Brian Cordasco, right, and his lawyer Frank Rothman, leave federal court in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
This Feb. 7, 2023 image provided by the Fire Department of the City of New York, shows Brian Cordasco, one of two former NYFD chiefs arrested Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to provide preferential treatment in the department's fire prevention bureau. (Fire Department of the City of New York via AP)
This Feb. 7, 2023 image provided by the Fire Department of the City of New York, shows Anthony Saccavino, one of two former NYFD chiefs arrested Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to provide preferential treatment in the department's fire prevention bureau. (Fire Department of the City of New York via AP)
This combo of Feb. 7, 2023 images provided by the Fire Department of the City of New York, shows Brian Cordasco, left, and Anthony Saccavino, two former NYFD chiefs arrested Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to provide preferential treatment in the department's fire prevention bureau. (Fire Department of the City of New York via AP)
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024, following the arrest of two former New York City Fire Department chiefs. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, holds a binder marked confidential during a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024, following the arrest of two former New York City Fire Department chiefs. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge, James E. Dennehy looks on as DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024, following the arrest of two former New York City Fire Department chiefs. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber, speaks as Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, left, and FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge, James E. Dennehy, second from left, look on during a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge, James E. Dennehy, speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams points to a graphic detailing a New York City Fire Department bribery scheme at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, points to a graphic detailing a FDNY bribery scheme at a press conference held at the Federal Plaza in New York, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
