AUTO CALL A CAB: Charles Rangel gets into his taxpayer-provided Cadillac, which he admits he uses for political purposes.
He will ride this out. If he were Republican he would have already resigned his House seat. But, since he’s a Dem it’s OK. Dems are never held accountable and Charlie won’t even get a slap on the wrist for income tax evasion, etc.
REP. CHARLIE RANGEL OFFICE STILL IN RENT STABILIZED APARTMENT – New York Post
Three months after Rep. Charlie Rangel admitted he improperly converted a rent-stabilized apartment into his political campaign office – and promised to give it up – the embattled pol still has not moved out.
For the past decade, Rangel’s political operation has been headquartered in a $682-a-month, one-bedroom apartment at Lenox Terrace – the same Harlem building where he has three other rent-stabilized apartments for personal use.
And even with the furor over his sweet rental deals continuing, Rangel doesn’t plan to move his operations to a $4,000-a-month renovated brownstone at 193 Lenox Ave. until mid-October…
“He was disingenuous at the least. That was deceptive. Moving doesn’t mean when the lease is up,” said Melanie Sloan, director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
But Rangel’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, said “The campaign identified a new office in a newly restored brownstone in Harlem within three weeks of Mr. Rangel’s announcement that he was leaving the Lenox Terrace space.
“The campaign will be the first tenants in the building, and it had to wait for the construction to be completed.”
Rangel’s political machine continued to rake in big donations operating out of Lenox Terrace.
Between July 15 – the day after his promise to move – and Aug. 20, the Rangel Victory Fund collected some $792,350 in contributions, and Rangel for Congress collected another $466,620, according to the Federal Election Commission.
“That he is continuing to accept the lower rent is . . . a potential election-law problem because he has not reported the difference between the rate he is paying and the market rate as an in-kind contribution – which is what it is,” Sloan said.
Tags: Congress Abuse
The scariest part about this article is that Rep. Rangel is just one of many democrats that try to evade costs in such a manner. The thing is the way one conducts their savings. There’s the non-ethical way like Rep Rangel is obviously engaged in (and still is from what I’ve read due to his building not being “ready” yet..pfft!), then there are ways that are more conducive to society’s acceptance. Unfortunately, they’re not located in the United States, but based on what Gist stated on their site, Gov. Schwarzenegger of California does top the list. You also have politicians including Helen Clark (Prime Minister of New Zealand), Ken Livingstone (Mayor of London, England, UK), and one of Rep. Rangel’s Dem. constituents, Rep. Henry Waxman of California. Championing the Safe Climate Act and other various environmental issues, these people are saving money in a way that’s not only befitting the environment itself, but saving themselves money so they don’t have to abuse taxpayer’s hard-earned money.
Thx for a thought-provoker REP. CHARLIE RANGEL OFFICE STILL IN RENT STABILIZED APARTMENT Albany's Insanity! Merri Corria