Charlie Can't Wrangle Out of Rent Mess
Allegedly failed to report rental income for eight years
By JENNIFER MILLMAN
Updated 9:45 AM EDT, Sun, Sep 13, 2009
It appears Charlie hasn't been able to wrangle out of the rental mess he's gotten himself into; in fact, it seems he just keeps digging deeper holes.
Rep. Charles Rangel failed to report rental income for eight years on his Harlem pad, even though public records indicate tenants were living there, according to a published report.
The influential chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee maintained he got no money from 1993 to 2000 on the six-apartment complex, federal financial disclosure forms reveal.
But one current tenant told The New York Post she's lived at the building for two decades – and shelled out rent during that time.
Another tenant claimed her ex-boyfriend lived at the apartment for years, dishing out about $500 in rent each month, reports the Post.
The paper found that at least four tenants lived in the apartments from 1993 to 2000 – the eight years during which Rangel wrote on federal forms he got paid no rent.
The high-profile Democrat, who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for a variety of alleged financial violations, keeps changing his story when it comes to the Harlem pad, which his grandfather bought in 1923. His reported annual rental income has ranged from nothing to up to $50,000, reports the Post – disparities that have some people scratching their heads and others just shaking them in dismay.
Despite all the controversy surrounding the congressman in Washington, he's still getting love at home. About 75 local politicians, including former mayor David Dinkins, church leaders and union reps attended a rally for Rangel in Harlem yesterday.
Dinkins said he was there to "show support for my brother," reports the Daily News.
"He's a very powerful member of Congress, and they would like to take him down," Dinkins told the paper. "But that's not going to happen."
First Published: Sep 13, 2009 8:26 AM EDT
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