The Brooklyn Ink

Charles B Rangel has stepped down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee after an ethics panel told him off for accepting corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean.

The House ethics committee is still investigating a slew of accusations: Rangel’s reported failure to pay taxes on the rental income for a villa in the Dominican Republic, his use of four rent-stabilized apartments and the representative’s fund-raising.

In a statement, Rangel said he stepped down to avoid hamstringing the Democrats right before the midterm elections.