Rangel the ‘Probe Me!’ Politician

Rep. Charles Rangel is sure keeping congressional ethicists busy these days.

The embattled Harlem lawmaker said yesterday that he made his third complaint to the House Ethics Committee against himself in as many months – this time to look at his beachfront dream home in the Dominican Republic.

Rangel purchased the villa at the Punta Cana Yacht Club with a no-interest loan 20 years ago and has failed to report rental income on the property, which rents for $1,100 a night during the peak season. “This question will be forwarded to the ethics committee,” Rangel said after speaking at the opening of the Dream Charter School in East Harlem.

The Democratic lawmaker has also sought rulings from the committee over his keeping four rent-stabilized apartments, including one used for a campaign office, and over his use of congressional letterhead to solicit support for City College’s planned Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service.

Read more: (Pilar Conci, Chuck Bennett, and Daphne Retter, “Rangel the ‘Probe Me!’ Politician – Now Asking Panel to Check Villa,” New York Post, 9/09/08)