The Right Way to Address Charles Rangel's Scandals

In an apparent quid pro quo last year, Rangel killed a tax bill that would punish U.S. companies for relocating to lower-tax countries after a CEO pledged $1 million for the future "Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service" at the City College of New York. Previously, Rangel had supported the bill.

With this latest addition to Rangel's growing parade of questionable dealings and laughable excuses—his failure to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income from his luxury Caribbean beach villa; his gaming of D.C. housing tax credits; his remarkable procurement of four rent-controlled apartments in Harlem; his fundraising appeals for his academic shrine on government letterhead...

I think the way to respond to the such scandals is just the opposite from what is typically done, which doesn’t work.

Authority figures love the idea that they can commit crimes, and even though the public is shocked and demands that they be punished, they have the power to “get over”, because they are above the law.

They actually enjoy people impotently writhing to see them prosecuted, and if they are on the other side, politically, blustering that “the integrity of the system must be maintained.” Yeah, right.

However, what they *don’t* like, is when the public just shrugs and says “We don’t care if you are punished, because you are all criminal scum and you are above the law.” Because this dispels the idea that there is anything approaching fairness or justice anywhere at that level. And stealing is only good if everyone else is honest. If they can steal from you back, you don’t like it, if you’re a thief.

It takes away their veneer of equal justice before the law, and that any of them can’t be bought, and cheap. When it happens enough, they can no longer claim the moral high ground on anything.

You can see it happening, too. When the politicians and media rail against “cynicism” and “public apathy”, they are secretly nervous that the public has wised up. Because when the public wises up, it votes out the old corrupt scum, and puts fresh corrupt scum in their place.

So yeah, Rangel will “get over”, just like William Jefferson Clinton and William Jefferson “got over”. The Democrats in congress actually gave the latter a standing ovation when he was re-elected, though the public was disgusted with his clearly criminal behavior, except in his home district.

He became their new role model. But only because the public cared. If the public just shrugged and said, “So how come he stole all that money and you didn’t? Aren’t you smart enough? It certainly wasn’t your honesty that prevented you. You should steal more, or else we’ll know you are stupid.”

And they would hate that.

Rangel’s pricey real estate deals AND his financial connections to several tax-exempt entities are a huge red flag.

The IRS says the biggest potential for IRS fraud are tax-exempt non-profits doing deals with other tax-exempt non-profits----all posing as do-gooder "foundations" and “charities.” The NY Post reports at least three tax-exempt entities connected to Rangel‘s finances:

(1) The Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service (Rangel co-opted $2 million via Capitol Hill allocations, plus another $700,000 from Dept of HUD),

(2) The NY Carib News Foundation (organized financing for Rangel’s island-hopping luxe Caribbean trips),

(3) The Ann S. Kheel Charitable Trust---aids disadvantaged neighborhoods (gave $440,000 to The Charles B. Rangel Center) the largest single donation in the charity's 4-year history. Theodore Kheel, Esq, VP of Grupo Punta Cana Operating Company, (mortgage holder on Rangel’s luxury villa), donated $17,000 to Rangel's congressional campaigns and $52,000 to a Rangel-run political action committee since 1990, federal filings show. (Ann Kheel is his late wife).

The tax-exempt "Carib News Foundation" subsidized Rangel’s trips to luxury island resorts---perfect places to hide money from the taxman.

The list of 15 countries "encouraging money laundering" published by a special investigative committee set up by G-7 was leaked to the French daily Le Monde circa 2000 included the "black list" ----Panama, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Cook Islands, Dominica, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Panama, the Philippines, St. Kitts, Israel, and the Grenadines. Suspected tax havens include Cyprus, Gibraltar, Monaco, and Antigua.

Suspected tax fraud and tax law violations can be reported to IRS TOLL-FREE 1-800-829-0433 (You may remain anonymous).

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REFERENCE------FR POSTED 9/20

Rangel`s NY Carib News Junket Now Under Scrutiny?
NY POST, Wednesday, September 17 2008

Congressman Charles Rangel is insisting he will not step down from his chairmanship at the House’s tax-writing committee even as his 2007 trip to the NY Carib News conference came under fire.

The New York Post on Tuesday slammed the Harlem congressman for taking the trip without requesting permission as required under new rules from The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Under the rules, changed last year, any privately paid-for free trips for a congress member required permission in order to attend. But the Post claims that Rangel only listed the Carib News Foundation as the sponsor of his trip in his tax returns but failed to disclose that the trip was financed by corporate sponsors, AT&T, HSBC, Sandals and Pfizer. (more)

The next NY Carib News conference is set for the Netherlands Antilles in November and Faye Rodney, Carib News president, recently was quoted as stating that `18 members of the Congressional Black Caucus have already indicated they will attend. And while Rangel is being scrutinized for the trips, he is not alone in taking part in the junkets.

Legistorm reports indicate that several other mainly black congress members also took part in trips sponsored by `New York Carib News,` a newspaper owned by Jamaicans, Karl and Faye Rodney.

Among those who were `sponsored` last year to Antigua were Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, $845; Rep. Bennie Thompson, $1,528.60; Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, $1,420 and Rep. Donna Christansen, $900 in 2007 and $1,550 in 2006 to Panama. Rep. Maxine Waters was sponsored to the tune of $1,960 in 2006 to Panama while Rep. Ed Towns went on a $980 trip, also to Panama, courtesy of the NY Carib News. Rep. Gregory Meeks was taken on a $1,295 trip to the USVI in 2005 and to Panama on a $1,550 trip in 2006. Rep. Rangel also benefited from a $1,960 trip to Panama in 2006 as did his staffers, Annie Elisa Minguez, George Dalley and Emile Milne, who were sponsored on the trip at a cost of $980, $980 and $2,234 respectively.

Rep. David Scott was also taken on a $1,960 trip to Panama in 2006 while Rep. Donald Payne was sponsored to the tune of $980, also to Panama in 2006. Thompson was also taken to Panama in 2006 at a cost of $1,550 while Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson was taken to Panama, but at a cost of $980. Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick was hosted as well, at a cost of $1,960 in 2006, records indicate. The trips date back to 2000 and total a whopping $91,522, with only Democrats seemingly hosted.

Rangel, who recently hosted Caribbean leaders in Brooklyn at a poorly organized and poorly attended conference, has come under fire in recent weeks for failing to report $75,000 in income from a rental property in the Dominican Republic and for using a rent-controlled apartment for a campaign office. He has also been criticized for using congressional stationery to urge potential donors to support the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York.

Despite increased media scrutiny and pressure from Republicans, Rangel`s lawyer, Lanny Davis, said Tuesday, `Mr. Rangel has not considered, nor has it ever been on the table, that he would step aside from his current position as chairman of the House Ways and Means. He added that the congressman, who has championed trade agreements that reduce tariffs on African and Caribbean exports, is going to hire a forensic accountant to examine the last 20 years of his financial records. This will be forwarded directly to the House Ethics Committee, Davis added. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists she is standing by Rangel and expressed her appreciation that he is allowing the House Ethics Committee to investigate the claims.

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