Employees from the US Nonprofit housing group ACORN were fired after being caught on hidden camera assisting a man posing as a pimp and a woman pretending to be a prostitute, advising them to lie to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and giving guidance on how to claim underage girls from El Salvador as tax dependents.

Initially, two ACORN staffers from the Baltimore office were fired on Thursday, September 10, for recommending illegal activities to secure a housing loan. 24 hours later two ACORN staffers in the Washington office were also fired for offering to help the same “pimp” and “prostitute” secure a loan.

25-year-old independent filmmaker James O’Keefe, posing as the pimp, secretly taped the meeting that have ignited calls for investigations of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

ACORN’s leaders said Friday they were “appalled and angry” at what their employees had done, but insisted the videos were part of a political “smear” campaign and not representative of the institution as a whole.

“But that does not excuse the behavior of the employees,” wrote ACORN’s president Alton Bennet and executive director Mike Shea. “We have fired them and are initiating an internal review of practices and reminding all staff of their obligation to uphold the highest legal and ethical standards.”

Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., called for a hearing to investigate ACORN’s tax filing assistance programs following the release of the videos he said suggested multiple incidents of tax fraud.

“In light of the apparent flagrant and willful attempts to suborn tax fraud, I … (am seeking) a hearing of the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee as soon as practicable to investigate ACORN’s activities,” he said Friday.

O’Keefe was accompanied by 20-year-old Hannah Giles, posing as a prostitute. They both sought help from ACORN workers in Baltimore, who advised them how to falsify tax forms and seek illegal benefits for young girls from El Salvador they wanted to smuggle in as prostitutes.

“There’s like 10 girls,” O’Keefe says. “There’s ten El Salvodoreans.”

The ACORN staffer replies, “I understand what you are saying.”

ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — calls itself a network of families “working together for social justice and stronger communities,” according to its Web site.

The organization has been accused by Republicans and conservatives of committing fraud in voter registration drives.

“Taxpayers should be outraged that their money has gone to an organization that, in addition to facing charges of voter fraud and tax violations, is willing to facilitate prostitution,” said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

“As this video confirms, ACORN continues to operate as a criminal enterprise.”

The videotape was made public Thursday, September 10 by BigGovernment.com. Portions of the video were aired throughout the day on FOX News.

source: Fox News

Charles Rangel, the chariman of the House Ways and Means Committee, helped  preserve a lucrative off-shore tax loophole for an oil drilling executive. This issue has prompted the House ethics committe to expand the inquiry on the matter.

Rangel is a powerful New York Democrat who insists the charges are false. But is it just coincidence that the businessman linked to the scandal pledged $1 million for a planned Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York?

Beyond suspicions about the offshore tax loophole worth tens of millions, the panel must look into Mr. Rangel’s use of congressional letterhead to solicit support for his eponymous center. Then there’s his use of rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem at cut rates and his failure to pay taxes and disclose $75,000 in income from a Dominican villa on which he enjoyed an interest-free mortgage.

The ramifications are great. It could lead to Rangel giving up his chairmanship while the investigation proceeds.  House speaker Nancy Pelosi is in a tough position - she needs to act on the matter on this Democratic party member.  She needs to urge Rangel to step down.  If he doesn’t, she needs to remove him.

Ethics violations by a public servant in such a high position cannot be tolerated.  His power in making decisions regarding huge fiscal and tax issues means there can be no doubts about the leadership’s priorities.