First L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Now Charlie?
Harlem congressman Charles Rangel and his wife, Alma, have been living apart for some time and divorce is likely, according to sources.
The separation, although not public, has been known in political circles for months, says a Washington insider.
The congressman spoke to me Friday and declined to comment about his relationship with his wife.
But he specifically denied a claim by a source that he had been dating other women.
"I work all the time, from 8 o'clock in the morning," he said. "I don't go out, I don't go to nightclubs. That is false."
The source had claimed that Rangel, 77, "has been keeping company - it's a midlife career embarrassment. He's running amok."
The source also claimed Rangel's elevation to chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee had bolstered his romantic confidence.
Democrat Rangel, a Harlem native, has represented New York's 15th District since 1971.