Ex-Congressman Jefferson needs a cell mate

Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, has failed to pay taxes on two plots of land he has in New Jersey, records show.

Rangel's ownership of the small, undeveloped properties came to light on Tuesday only after he drastically amended at least six years of financial-disclosure forms he had filed annually with the House clerk as required by law.

The corrected filings as much as doubled the amount of personal wealth Rangel has claimed going back years and revealed at least $780,000 in previously unreported assets.

The Harlem Democrat concealed somewhere between $38,902 and $116,800 in 2007 income, according to the revised filings.

Among the assets he failed to list was a checking account containing somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000.

Also undisclosed for years were two lots he owns in Glassboro, NJ, about 100 miles from the city.

Rangel is delinquent on his taxes on that property, according to the Gloucester County Clerk's office.

He currently owes $159.39 in unpaid property taxes for the second and third quarters of this year, according to the clerk's office.