Rep Charlie Rangel

(D-NY)*

just can’t help himself. Via JammieWearingFool

BIG WHEEL BENZ THE RULES

Rep. Charles Rangel has been using a House of Representatives parking garage for years as free storage space for his old Mercedes-Benz – a violation of congressional rules and a potential new tax woe for the embattled lawmaker, The Post has learned.

The 1972 silver sedan is registered to Rangel, who is already under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, and is parked in a coveted section of an indoor lot, near elevators that lead to his office.

~snip~

A House Web site on parking regulations informs anyone with a space that, under IRS regulations, the benefit of the free parking is considered “imputed income” and must be declared to the government.

The spaces are valued by the House at $290 per month, the site says – about the monthly cost of leasing a space in a private DC-area garage.

If the car has been in that space since its license plates were surrendered four years ago, the imputed income would be nearly $5,000. This is going to be the “mother of all” delinquent tax bills.

Add this new charge to:

He had interest waived on a loan.
He failed to report income on a rental property in the Dominican Republic. He blamed that on not being able to speak Spanish.
He was using one of his four rent controlled apartments as a campaign office in clear violation of ethics rules.
He has lobbied on behalf of the Yankees to waive IRS rules that forbid tax free bonds from being used on sports stadiums – twice! He has collected a lot of money from people connected to the Yankees this year.
Update: He has used congressional stationary to solicit donations for the Charles B. Rangel Center. One the list of people that have donated: AIG. They put in $10,000,000!

After all of that, you would expect that Rangel would be tossed from his Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. You would be wrong. He’s going to keep his seat, apparently with the support of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi