Rep. didn't pay mortgage interest on property

September 6, 2008

WASHINGTON Rep. Charles B. Rangel paid no mortgage interest on a beach resort property for more than 10 years, a lawyer for the powerful House committee chairman said yesterday. The New York congressman's lawyer, Lanny Davis, told the Associated Press that Rangel got his no-interest deal for the villa in the Dominican Republic because he was an original buyer in the resort development, and in the early days after Rangel's 1987 purchase the rental income it generated failed to meet expectations. "Mr. Rangel received no special preference," said Davis. The Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means tax-writing committee has come under scrutiny for his vacation property and apartments he rents in his home district of Harlem. Davis said Rangel failed to report rental income from the resort property on his taxes but didn't realize it was necessary because of the way the deal was structured.