Champagne Charlie Rangel strikes again!

This time, it’s a 1972 Mercedes that he’s been illegally storing, unregistered and without plates for four years in a House of Representatives parking lot. It finally got towed .

And, given Champagne Charlie’s ever-growing list of tax issues, this isn’t good news either:

The House Web site says anyone with a reserved indoor space incurs taxable income currently calculated at $100 per month.

I have nooooo doubt that’s been properly reported for each of the past four years.

Next questions —
• Was he driving it illegally during that time?
• Does he have a driver’s license, for that matter?

NYT — Rangel should step down

I fully agree with the New York Times editor calling for ethics-shortchanged House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel to step down while his ever-mounting financial woes are under investigation.

Actually, I don’t fully agree. This is politics, not a court of law, and I think Champagne Charlie should resign.

Rangel gets the “super-prime” loan

What else can you say when Champagne Charlie Rangel, beyond his sweetheart deals on NYC apartments and slumlording for the rich (when he’s not shaking down their lobbyists as House Ways and Means chairman) also has had a 10-year interest-free mortgage on a sweet beachfront rental in the Dominican.

PLUS, he failed to report the rental income from the property on his taxes.

“It is my understanding that over the 20-year time period there is not likely to be federal tax liability by Mr. Rangel because of offsetting depreciation expenses and tax credits. Therefore, whatever amendments might be necessary do not involve the federal tax code,” said his attorney, Lanny Davis.

Wait….

This is the person responsible for overseeing the tax code as part of running Ways and Means.

If Passive Pelosi™ really believes in Congressional ethics, she’ll address this ASAP after the election by booting him from his chairmanship.

Charles Rangel — Congressional shakedown artist par excellence, part II

Fresh off getting a New York Times spanking for his plethora of rent-controlled apartments in Harlem, House Ways and Means Chairman Rangel is now the focus of a Washington Post piece about his apparent shakedown of corporations doing business before his committee — and on official letterhead, no less.

Plus, $30 mil ain’t a low-dollar shakedown, and the additional hubris factor of having the place named after yourself makes it more stinky yet. Yes, per one person in the story, he’s crossed a line. But, as the rent control story makes clear, he crossed that line years ago.

You know, it’s kind of hard to campaign against GOP corruption of the likes of Ted Stevens, at the national level, when you have a poster-boy fox guarding the henhouse like Rangel.

Charles Rangel slumlords for the wealthy

Rangel, the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been a pretty consistent fighter for keeping rent-control housing in New York City —

EXCEPT —

When the property company that’s cutting him a sweetheart deal on FOUR rent-controlled apartments, one of them apparently being used illegally by Rangel to boot, is the one turning rent-control properties into market-priced ones.

Rangel declined to answer questions during a telephone interview, saying that his housing was a private matter that did not affect his representation of his constituents.

“Why should I help you embarrass me?” he said, before abruptly hanging up.

Oh, no, hypocrisy NEVER affects how you represent your constitutents.

And, the apparent illegality?

Rangel uses his fourth apartment as a campaign office, despite state and city regulations that require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence.

And, having four rent-stabilized apartments may be a violation of Congressional ethics rules on gifts, too.

Of course, some of Rangel’s own constituents are familiar with his past history of throwing his weight around in Harlem.

Read the full story for more on that, like the Apollo Theater.