Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2010

CONTACT: JAMES SLEPIAN

 

Canton, OH— In the wake of findings by a House Ethics panel last Thursday that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), had violated ethics rules by accepting trips to the Caribbean that were financed by corporate lobbyists, the Renacci for Congress campaign called on John Boccieri return or donate to charity the $53,200 in campaign contributions he has accepted from Rangel. 

 

“As if John Boccieri’s voting record isn’t troubling enough, the fact that his campaign coffers have been fueled by the fruits of Washington’s culture of corruption raises further questions about his judgment and his ethics. For years, Charlie Rangel has been the subject of countless ethics probes, including investigations into tax fraud and misuse of taxpayer funds, but through it all, John Boccieri has kept his hand firmly rooted in Rangel’s pocket. The time has come for John Boccieri to finally put his constituents ahead of his own political ambitions. For the sake of salvaging the integrity of his office, he owes it to the people of this district to immediately return or donate to charity every cent of the nearly $54,000 he’s accepted from Charlie Rangel,” Renacci spokesman James Slepian said.

 

Between June of 2007 and February of 2008, Boccieri received a total of $9,000 from Rangel’s National Leadership PAC and Rangel’s campaign committee. In August of 2008, Boccieri accepted another $44,200 from the Rangel Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that Boccieri shared with Rangel. In addition to accepting Rangel’s tainted money, last fall Boccieri voted against a measure (H.R. 805) to immediately strip Rangel of his chairmanship of the Ways & Means Committee. Boccieri has also refused to join many of his fellow Democrats who have not only returned Rangel’s money but who have bucked Party leadership and called for Rangel to resign his chairmanship in light of last week’s findings by the House ethics panel.

 

“Considering the amount of money that Charlie Rangel has funneled to John Boccieri’s campaign, coupled with Boccieri’s unwavering loyalty to Nancy Pelosi, it unfortunately comes as no surprise that he has failed to join the bi-partisan chorus in Congress that is calling for Rangel to resign. At a time when our country and our district are in desperate need of leadership, John Boccieri’s inaction is extremely disheartening—and as the voters continue to watch and listen, his silence on this matter is deafening,” Slepian added.

 

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For more information visit RenacciForCongress.com