The organizer of privately sponsored Caribbean trips which spurred ethics investigations into several lawmakers, including Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), pleaded guilty to lying to investigators, The New York Post reported this weekend.
Karl Rodney admitted the disclosure forms he submitted regarding the trips falsely claimed his New York Carib News organization was the sole sponsor of the trips. However, he actually used money from several corporations to pay for the trips. The false disclosure violated a federal law passed in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandel intended to limit trips paid for by lobbyists. The trips to St. Maarten in 2008 were sponsored for a conferences in the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors will not seek a sentence of more than six months for Rodney.
A House ethics investigation into the trips found that Rangel's staff had knowledge of the outside funding. Rangel was admonished by the ethics committee, although the investigation did not find proof Rangel was aware of the violation. He was deemed responsible for his staff's violations.
Four other lawmakers on the trip were cleared by the committee because there was no evidence they knew of the violations.
