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Rangel ethics investigation continues in slow motion
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The boisterous Rep. Charlie Rangel is in the news once again with his introduction of a House bill that will make it harder for taxpayers to hide their money in foreign banks. This latest action by New York City's gift to America is the epitome of hypocrisy.
Democrat Congressman Charles Rangel, chairman of the powerful committee that writes the nation's tax code, allegedly failed to pay an unspecified amount in federal taxes during the past five years on rental income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic, according to several news stories. There are other financial transactions involving Rangel that are the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation.
Rep. Rangel, a Harlem Democrat who is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, has owned the beachfront house at the Punta Cana resort and club since 1988, but never declared the $75,000 in rental income he has earned either on his tax returns or on his Congressional financial disclosure form.
When Mr. Rangel’s legal advisers first acknowledged the unreported income, during interviews with reporters, they said his accountants had determined that he would probably owe back taxes to the city and New York State, but not the federal government.
But his lawyer, Lanny Davis, said that the accountants had since revised their calculations and determined that Mr. Rangel would owe “a modest amount” to the federal government for unpaid taxes over the last five years. Mr. Davis said Mr. Rangel was likely to owe both the state and the city a similar amount over the same period. The combined total of back taxes owed to the city, state and federal governments will probably be “several thousands of dollars,” Mr. Davis told the New York Times.
Well, let's take a look at the real Charlie Rangel as evidenced in a little known story of how a New York City detective named Sidney knocked the robust politician on his keister following the utterance of a Rangelism in the 1960s:
Sidney was one of New York City’s first African-American detectives. In fact, he was so good at policing in the city's toughest neighborhoods, that he was promoted to the coveted rank of 1st Grade Detective in the NYPD, the youngest in New York's history. A former Marine -- one of the first blacks to be accepted into the Marine Corps -- Sid was your consummate police officer. Tough, relentless and proud, Sid tempered his tough street persona with intelligence and a sense of fairness that won the respect of his superiors, his fellow cops and the citizens he served. Sid came from a black family of achievement with one brother becoming a police captain and another serving as a colonel in the US Army.
While still a young detective, Sidney arrested a black man who was dealing drugs on streets and schoolyards of Harlem. The drug dealer sold heroin to black youngsters who were being told over and over again since they were knee high that their lives were hopeless in an America that at best cared little for them, at worst wanted them in prison or dead. They were indoctrinated with this rhetoric by the likes of Charlie Rangel, white liberals and their echo chamber, the mainstream news media. Detective Sid had little compassion for a man who sold drugs to black kids.
At the time, Charlie Rangel was an up-and-coming political hack in the local Democrat Club and a lawyer more adept at shooting off his mouth than arguing his positions on jurisprudence. Rangel ended up representing the drug-pushing punk -- whose parents, by the way, were financially very well off. The punk's dad was a bigtime contributor to the local Democrat Party and a supporter of Rangel for congressman which led to Rangel acting on behalf of an unrepentant drug pusher. Ironically, Rangel later would become chairman of Congress' Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control.
So Charles Rangel, attorney-at-law, visited my partner Sid in order to get him to back off and perhaps change some of the testimony should the case go to trial. The young detective told Rangel, “No way. That skell sells poison to kids.” At that point Charlie Rangel, a known bully in Harlem and northern Manhattan, called Sid an Uncle Tom and got in his face. The six-foot tall detective hauled off and bopped him right in his face and Rangel went down. After getting up from the floor and brushing himself off, the opulent future congressman made some empty threats of retaliation, however Rangel never filed departmental charges of police brutality. Sid believed Charlie Rangel knew if he did he would find himself in a jackpot over witness tampering and he may have had to kiss his political career goodbye.
So now whenever you see Congressman Charles Rangel on television ridiculing conservatives or denigrating the US military, think about a fat lawyer lying flat on his back at the feet of a patriot, a leader and one of the best cops who ever breathed.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's the former editor for the House Conservatives Fund's weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He's also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc.
To subscribe to Kouri's newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write "Subscription" on the subject line.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He's also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc.
To subscribe to Kouri's newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write "Subscription" on the subject line.
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