Rangel to request ethics probe of his rent

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel plans to ask an ethics committee whether he violated House rules by renting four Harlem rent-controlled apartments, a spokesman said.

The New York Democrat had the four apartments, including one that he used as a campaign office, in the upscale Lenox Terrace complex, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Local and state guidelines require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence. Rangel's office recently announced he would move the campaign office out of the building.

The Times reported that Rangel paid $3,894 a month in rent last year for the four apartments. The Lenox Terrace Web site now lists similar units for rent at a combined market rate of $7,465 to $8,125 per month.

The National Legal and Policy Center, a Washington-based watchdog group, has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, saying Rangel essentially received a gift from the building owners.

Emile Milne, a spokesman for Rangel, said the congressman was confident that the committee would find that "there are no violations of gift rules or any other rules."