Sucks to be you - Charlie Rangel

Memo to self -- watch out for the paper trail. From the New York Post:

The paper trail was damning
Rep. Charles Rangel's ethics case is filled with suggestions of "pay to play," with the Harlem Democrat personally hitting up corporate execs for big contributions for a self-named CCNY center -- even as their firms lobbied him on tax and trade law, internal company documents show.

The honchos themselves weren't always sure whether to favor a powerful ally with a donation or to steer clear of gifts that might not smell right, according to records obtained by the House ethics committee.

The extensive paper trail reveals the extraordinary intertwining of Rangel's search for private funds for his center and legislative matters -- one of the misconduct charges on which he was found guilty yesterday.

In one of the most striking examples, New York Life lobbyist George Nichols wrote another company exec:

"Thanks for discussing the Rangel Center with Sy [Sternberg, the company CEO]. I think we should do something for Rangel for reasons stated by [company exec] Sheila [Davidson]. Additionally, Rangel has been a friend of the company for 25+ years and yes we have contributed to his political causes. But, we also have benefited from his position, policy decisions and legislation."

Another internal e-mail from the company gives a list of issues that Sternberg raised in a meeting with Rangel in March 2007.

It will be interesting to see if he gets expelled. There certainly is enough justification.