Charlie’s Mortage Bares Home Untruth
NY Post
Rep. Charles Rangel claimed on mortgage papers that a Harlem brownstone was his principal residence — even though he was living elsewhere at the time, The Post has learned.
When the Democrat — who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee — took out the mortgage in 1990, he said the property on West 132nd Street was his “principal residence,” records show.
But Rangel has been living since the 1970s in Harlem’s Lenox Terrace apartment complex, where he improperly amassed four rent-stabilized properties.
State law requires that rent-regulated apartments be the tenant’s residence.
“I will reside in the Property (on 132nd Street) for at least six (6) months of every calendar year,” read Rangel’s mortgage contract with Citibank, which is on file with the city.
The terms of the $60,000 loan appear to be normal for that time, but lenders say claiming principal residency when you live elsewhere is a serious breach.
“It’s fraud or a mistake,” said David Reed, an author of several popular books about mortgage lending.
“Owner-occupied dwellings — where you hang your hat — always get better interest rates and lower down payments than rental properties or second homes,” Reed added.
“That’s because if a borrower goes south, you’re likely to dump your vacation home or your investment property first.”
Citing privacy concerns, a Citigroup spokesman declined to comment on the mortgage, Rangel’s principal-residency claim, or whether any favorable treatment had been granted to the longtime congressman.
Last November, Rangel and five other members of Congress took a junket to the Caribbean with $100,000 from Citigroup — just weeks after Congress bailed out banks with $700 billion in taxpayer funds.
Rangel sold the brownstone at 74 W. 132nd St. to Bethel AME Church in 2004, although several of his relatives continue to live there.
Newly filed financial-disclosure reports show Rangel has understated his annual earnings, his assets and his business dealings by millions of dollars since 2002, The Post has reported.
This is not the first time Rangel has gotten into trouble claiming property as his primary residence. Last year, The Post reported that Rangel had been claiming a “homestead” tax break in Washington, DC, while claiming primary residency in New York.
Meanwhile, Rangel again refused to answer any questions yesterday.
“My only concern is just to see how is the press going to handle the mistakes that clearly they’ve made after the investigations have been completed and the Ethics Committee has worked its will,” he said.
This past September Rangel admitted that he failed to report $75 thousand in taxes.
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Wild Thing’s comment…….
Why isn’t this guy in jail?
(Ha ha – I crack myself up.)
Oh wait! Charlie’s a DEMOCRAT! Therefore, he didn’t LIE, he simply ‘mis-spoke’!
The ethics Committee, Bwahahahaha, What a joke.
The Congressional Black Caucus, Ahahahaha, funnier still.
President Barrack Hussein Obama.
The joke isnt funny anymore
.
….Thank you Darth for sending this to me.
Darth
U.S. Airforce
C-5 loadmaster
84-97
If it were me or you, we would be sitting in jail for tax evasion. Just goes to show you the more money you have, the more chances you have of getting off. This cabinet, this administration is so bad, it makes a bad soap opera look good. They are all about 1 french fry short of a Happy Meal!
This has mystified me since I heard about it, what, a year ago or more?
Cold Cash Jefferson filed for bankruptcy after he’s been convicted now for that 90k he kept in his freezer, etc.
Too bad, so sad. Their actions, that is.
Charlie often boasts about being a Korean War veteran. So as a Korean War vet during THE FORGOTTEN WAR, Charlie often FORGETS his A$$ET$ too? Imagine that Wild Thing?
Yeah but Charlie is a friend of Al Sharpton. That makes everything all right.
He’s living like a king while his subjects are living like serfs, why he’s a Democrat, it’s their way.
Charlie is no less egregious than the late Ted Kennedy’s drinking buddy Chris Dodd, crime pays and it pays well. The State of Mass. is regurgitating sour grapes, they modified their election rules to bar any Republicans from being appointed to the Senate when Kerry ran for POTUS, the toad died and the process is complicated by that former decision. Kennedy gave you a year’s notice to gerrymander it again Deval Patrick:)
This is the guy, who conveniently forgot he had $750,000 in checking account. As the old saying goes, ‘life is like a shit sandwich, the more bread you have the less shit you have to eat.’
Thank you so much everyone
LOL Yes Tom that does excuse everything ole
Rangel is doing.. good one.
“Yeah but Charlie is a friend of Al Sharpton. That makes everything all right.”