Metro

Charlie guilty on ethics raps

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WASHINGTON — After quick deliberations, a House panel yesterday judged Harlem Rep. Charlie Rangel guilty of 11 ethics violations — prompting a watchdog group to call for his resignation and even his closest friends to wonder about his future in office.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairman of the ethics panel, said the verdict — which included finding that Rangel had brought discredit upon the House — was the product of “clear and convincing evidence” against the lawmaker.

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“We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law,” she said after handing down the crushing judgment following about six hours of deliberations. “I believe that we have accomplished that mission.”

The bipartisan panel convicted Rangel of all but one charge levied against him after an ethics probe of more than two years found a “pattern” of rule-breaking, including dodging taxes, concealing assets and misusing his congressional office to raise money for the City College center that bears his name — all first reported by The Post.

Rangel, 80, who shockingly walked out of his ethics trial Monday, claiming he couldn’t afford a lawyer to mount a defense, lashed out at the panel yesterday and called its verdict “unfair.”

“How can anyone have confidence in the decision of the Ethics Subcommittee when I was deprived of due-process rights, right to counsel and was not even in the room? I can only hope that the full committee will treat me more fairly, and take into account my entire 40 years of service to the Congress before making any decisions on sanctions,” Rangel said in a written statement.

“I am disappointed by the unfortunate findings of the Ethics Subcommittee,” he went on. “The Committee’s actions are unprecedented in view of the fact that they arrived at without rebuttal or counter evidence on my behalf.”

The Harlem Democrat insisted he broke rules only because of “good-faith mistakes” and his misdeeds were never designed to enrich himself or gain personal benefits. He pointed out that the ethics committee’s chief counsel, Blake Chisam, who presented the overwhelming evidence against Rangel, said the violations were from “sloppy and careless record-keeping, but were not criminal or corrupt.”

Rangel showed up without legal counsel Monday, claiming his lawyers quit a month ago after being paid $2 million over the last two years and then demanding another $1 million for the trial work.

Rangel said he couldn’t afford it and needed more time to set up a legal defense fund. The trial panel denied a postponement.

After declining to defend himself at trial, Rangel is now expected to try to plead his case to the full ethics committee before it recommends a punishment.

The five Democrats and four Republicans on the committee are expected to meet tomorrow, sources said.

The punishment — ultimately to be decided by a vote on the House floor — could range from a formal reprimand to expulsion. Rangel could also be fined or lose certain House privileges.

Capitol Hill insiders say the most likely outcome would be a reprimand, which is considered a wrist slap but would still put an ugly black mark on Rangel’s 40-year congressional career.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said the veteran lawmaker “must resign.”

“All of Mr. Rangel’s theatrics aside, the facts were clear: Mr. Rangel violated numerous House rules and federal laws. Whether these violations were deliberate or inadvertent, the American people deserve to be represented by members of Congress who adhere to the highest ethical standards. Mr. Rangel should resign,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan.

Even Rangel’s closest Democratic allies said he’s got some serious decisions to make about his future.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) advised Rangel to “take a deep breath and consider what is the best next step for him and his family.”

Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo, who attended Rangel’s fund-raiser in August while campaigning to clean up New York politics, said: “It’s obviously a sad situation to experience.”

“It’s important that people have full faith in the integrity in public service, so it’s painful to watch,” Cuomo said. “But we’ll see what happens at the end of the process.”

If Rangel resigns before year’s end, lame-duck Gov. Paterson could call a special election within 40 days to fill Rangel’s seat for the two-year session staring in January. That’s unlikely this late in the year.

When Cuomo is sworn on Jan. 1, he would be required to call a special election but would not have a deadline to do it.

Most New York pols remained supportive of Rangel, including Mayor Bloomberg, who said Rangel should stay in Congress.

“Congress has got to do what Congress has got to do,” the mayor said in Washington. “But remember, Charlie Rangel did a lot for New York City and we shouldn’t forget that.”

smiller@nypost.com