People, including expats, should know their heroes.

Charles Rangel, D-NY, one of the two cosponsors of the FATCA bill.

That's the man most concerned about Americans living and/or banking abroad and not paying taxes. Well, I am glad that for once a politician is legislating on something he is an expert on.

A few years ago the man got caught renting 4 adjacent rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan. Those are meant to be primary residences, preferably for people of limited means. I don't know how he ever explained his burning need for having 4 primary residences.

At the same time he filed a homestead tax break on his house in DC. AFAIK these are also meant for primary residences.

In 2008 Rangel totally forgot to mention his rental income from an overseas villa to IRS. Oops. Got caught.

Another thing he forgot was to disclose half of his assets and a bit of his income to Congress.

Property taxes on a couple of his New Jersey properties also got forgotten. Shit happens, you know.

A bit later he happened to violate the House gift rules by accepting trips to the Caribbean.

The ethics trial of the House ethics committee found him guilty in 11 out of the 13 original charges.

And yes, all of the above happened just after, just before, and right during the time when he was cosponsoring the bill that would interfere with the banking of several million Americans so severely that many of them would be abandoned by their banks, just to make sure that they are not hiding something.

A question to New Yorkers: why is this ape still in Congress? Seriously, even among the candidates there must be somebody with more sense and fewer ethics violation.