You must be kidding, mon.
Embattled Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel can’t fill out a tax form, but he’s now a knight — at least in Jamaica.
The Democratic Prince of Pork — who owns valuable tracts of land, some of them off the books — was inducted last week into the Order of Jamaica, the Caribbean commonwealth’s highest distinction and the equivalent of knighthood.
Sir Charles won’t be granted a magical shield that protects him from tax probes — but he will get a gold medal stamped with the motto, “For a covenant of the people,” adorned with the ackee fruit, a staple of the national cuisine.
The Gallant Knight of 125th Street — who also holds distinguished titles such as Duke of Tax Dodge, Lord of Largesse and Sultan of Sweetheart Deals — will join a list of other Order of Jamaica honorees that reads more like a rogues gallery than a roster from King Arthur’s round table. Past recipients include Fidel Castro and murderous Zimbabwe strongman Robert Mugabe.
Jamaican authorities insist they weren’t high when they decided to knight a man who’s smack in the middle of a congressional ethics investigation.
Rangel’s knighthood doesn’t entitle him to be a “sir,” but he can now be addressed as “the Honorable Charles Rangel.” He was honored because of his “outstanding contribution in promoting the interests of Jamaica and the Caribbean,” said Bruce Golding, the nation’s prime minister.
Rangel worked to get duty-free access for many of the island’s imports to the United States. He also labored for 20 years to exonerate Jamaican-American activist Marcus Garvey, who was convicted of mail fraud in 1925.
Rangel’s elevation to knighthood has some of the peasants back in his home fiefdom getting their pitchforks ready.
“He may have done a lot for Jamaicans, but it’s the Americans I’m worried about,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.