Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)

Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) is a twenty-term member of Congress representing New York’s 15th district. Rep. Rangel’s ethics issues stem from (1) improperly leasing four rent controlled apartments; (2) improperly using congressional stationery; (3) failing to report rental income from a vacation property; and (4) trading legislative assistance for contributions to the Rangel Center at City College. Rep. Rangel was included in CREW’s 2008 congressional corruption report.

Improper Rental Arrangements

Rep. Rangel leased four rent-stabilized apartments at Lenox Terrace in New York City, three of which serve as his personal residence and the fourth of which was used as an office for his campaign and political action committees. In total, Rep. Rangel paid about $3,800 for the apartments, roughly $7,000 less than new tenants would pay. Because Rep. Rangel was able to maintain at least two apartments in addition to his primary residence at rent-stabilized rates, and because he failed to pay fair-market rent on these apartments, Rep. Rangel may have violated New York housing law, the House gifts rule and campaign finance laws.

Improper Use of Congressional Stationary

Beginning in 2005, Rep. Rangel solicited funds for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York using his official congressional letterhead. House rules prohibit the use of congressional letterhead for any mailing paid for with non-appropriated funds. As a result, by sending out letters on his official letterhead on behalf of City College of New York, Rep. Rangel violated House rules.

Dominican Republic Villa

Rep. Rangel owns a beachfront villa on a Dominican Republic resort that rents for between $500 and $1,100 a night. Although Rep. Rangel’s villa is generally booked solid in the high season of December 15 through April 15, Rep. Rangel did not declare any rental income on his personal financial disclosure forms for the years from 1996-2000 and in 2006 and 2007. In total, Rep. Rangel failed to disclose $75,000 in rental income since 1988.

When Rep. Rangel purchased the villa in 1988, the company developing the resort gave him the mortgage, to be paid back over seven years at a rate of 10.5%. In 1990, the interest was waived for seven early investors including Rep. Rangel because the resort was generating less income than projected. By failing to include the rental income on his personal financial disclosure forms, Rep. Rangel may have violated the Ethics in Government Act and House rules. In addition, if when the interest was waived on his loan for the property Rep. Rangel received better terms than others similarly situated, the loan may have violated the House gifts rule.

In September 2008, Rep. Charles Rangel paid $10,800 in back taxes for his 2004, 2005 and 2006 returns related to the unreported rental income he earned from his Dominican Republic beach house.

Nabors Industries

Rep. Rangel helped preserve a tax loophole benefitting Nabors Industries at the same time he was soliciting donations to the Rangel Center from the company’s chief executive. If Rep. Rangel accepted a contribution to the Rangel Center in direct exchange for legislative assistance for Nabors Industries, he may have committed bribery, deprived his constituents of his honest services, and accepted an illegal gratuity.

Caribbean Trip

From November 6-9, 2008, Rep. Rangel and four other members traveled to St. Maarten to attend a conference supposedly sponsored by the Carib News Foundation. Peter Flaherty, the president of National Legal and Policy Center, also traveled to St. Maarten for the event and found evidence the trip was actually paid for by corporations including Citigroup, IBM, AT&T, Verizon, Pfizer, Macy’s and American Airlines. Because corporations that employ lobbyists appear to have sponsored the trip, because these corporations did not have a direct and immediate relationship with the trip, and because the trip appears to have largely been recreational in nature, Rep. Rangel likely violated House travel rules by accepting expenses for the trip.

Financial Disclosures

Rep. Rangel repeatedly failed to disclose all of his assets and unearned income in clear violation of House rules. From 1978-2006, the lawmaker failed to report buying, owning or selling assets 28 times. According to the Sunlight Foundation, “Assets worth between $239,026 and $831,000 appear or disappear with no disclosure of when they were acquired, how long they were held, or when they were sold, as the operative House rules at the time required.” From 2002-2006, Rep. Rangel failed to report up to $1.3 million in outside income on his financial disclosure forms. On August 12, 2009, Rep. Rangel filed an amendment to his 2007 personal financial disclosure form. The original report failed to disclose between $512,009 and $1.18 million in assets, including a checking account worth at least $250,000. If Rep. Rangel knowingly and willfully failed to disclose, or misrepresented, the true value of his personal assets on his financial disclosure forms, he would appear to be in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

Improper Vehicle Storage

Rep. Rangel stored his 1972 Mercedes in a House parking lot for several years. The car was covered by a tarp and did not have license plates. Its registration had expired in 2004 and the car did not display a current House parking permit. The space is valued at $290 per month, and must be reported to the IRS as imputed income. By storing an unlicensed vehicle in a House garage without a valid parking permit, Rep. Rangel violated House rules.

Ongoing Ethics Probe

Since Rep. Rangel initially requested the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct investigate allegations leveled against him, the committee’s probe has expanded. It currently is reviewing allegations into his use of congressional letterhead for fund-raising, the income he earned from the Dominican Republic villa, the three rent-controlled apartments he uses as his New York residence and the additional rent controlled apartment he used as a campaign office, his use of House parking facilities, the trip to the Caribbean and the alleged exchange of legislative assistance for a contribution to the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service. As a result of this investigation, Rep. Rangel has paid more than $1 million in legal fees.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT ON REP. CHARLES B. RANGEL (D-NY) >>