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Political club fails to report more than $200G

A Harlem political club, which benefits from taxpayer money and boasts Rep. Charles Rangel and Councilwoman Inez Dickens as district leaders, has received more than $200,000 in donations since 1999 but didn’t report the income or even register with the state, officials said.

Dickens also happens to be the Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club’s landlord, collecting monthly rent.

Yet her campaign paid $4,125 to the club for space during her 2009 council run — taxpayer-matched campaign cash that in part would have boomeranged back to her as rent.

“It’s disturbing to see taxpayer dollars pay for the operating costs of a council member’s building,” said Dick Dadey, executive director of the Citizens Union, a government watchdog. “That a building she owned pocketed money that came from her campaign is unethical and possibly a violation of law.”

Rep. Charles RangelWarzer Jaff

During the same year, mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio’s successful public-advocate campaign also paid $3,300 to rent space from the MLK Club, records from his campaign fund show.

Dickens’ campaign is headed by her sister, Dolores Dickens Richards, who’s a co-owner of the building at 2155 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.

Dickens refused to explain why her campaign paid rent to a tenant who paid rent to her: “All campaigns give money to different Democratic clubs. I can’t answer the question. I don’t know the answer.”

Political clubs are also legally required to register with the state if they’re involved in campaigning and to report income and expenditures if they’ve taken in more than $1,000, according to the state Board of Elections.

The club, whose Facebook page touts members such as former Gov. David Paterson and former Mayor David Dinkins, helped Rangel’s congressional re-election campaign last year.

Dickens, 64, who chairs the council’s Ethics Committee and is vying to become the next council speaker, has racked up more than $265,000 in unpaid code violations, property taxes and water bills on four decrepit apartment buildings, city records show.

The building that houses the club, 2155 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., and four floors of apartments above it, has 23 open violations.

The club has accepted contributions from campaign committees of de Blasio, Gov. Cuomo and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Those committees — and many others — reported making payments to the club, but the club didn’t report the contributions, according to the board.

Dickens referred questions about the club’s finances to club president Londel Davis, who did not return calls.

When asked if the state is investigating, a Board of Elections spokesperson would only say, “We simply don’t have the resources. We have 12,500 filers, and we have four auditors and zero investigators.”