James Capel, a former aide to Congressman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has pleaded guilty to failing to file tax returns for three years.
Capel pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of one count of failure to file a tax return and two counts of tax fraud.
Rangel was censured in the House last December for various ethics violations, including failure to pay taxes on rental income from a villa in the Dominican Islands (see
Capel did have some income taxes automatically withheld from his paycheck, but his failure to file the tax returns led to about $25,000 in unpaid taxes. As part of his plea deal, he will pay over $42,000 in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest. Capel retired in February from his job, where he earned nearly $160,000 a year.