(Photo: Getty)

The funeral for former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez will be held tomorrow and a New Yorker will be representing the United States at the event--Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks.

“I am honored to be a part of a delegation that will represent the United States at the Funeral of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday, March 8," Mr. Meeks, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “My deepest sympathies go out to the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela. Venezuela is an important nation to the Western Hemisphere. I remain committed to building the relationship between our nations. As always, I stand in continued support of the Venezuelan people especially at this time of mourning."

This won't be Mr. Meeks' first trip to Venezuela and one of his past visits to the country was rather controversial. 

Several years ago, Mr. Meeks reportedly had a string of meetings with Mr. Chávez. Allegedly, during these meetings, Mr. Meeks requested Mr. Chávez launch a criminal probe against a man who was an enemy of one of his donors. In response to this incident and others, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington labeled him "corrupt."

In addition to Mr. Meeks, the U.S. delegation to Mr. Chavez's funeral will also contain former Massachusetts Congressman Bill Delahunt, and U.S. Embassy Caracas Chargé d'Affaires James Derham.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, with his wife, Alma, and singer Aretha Franklin, at the congressman's birthday party fund-raiser in the Crown Plaza last night. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

One year after a House Ethics investigation tainted Rep. Charlie Rangel's 80th birthday party fundraiser, the Harlem veteran threw himself another party on Wednesday night, and many of New York's major Democratic figures were there.

Governor Andrew Cuomo made an early appearance but left before the night's emcee --- his predecessor, David Paterson -- began introducing the night's speakers. Cuomo and Paterson did run into one another. ("Hey, young man!" Cuomo said as he embraced Paterson. The two spoke privately as several aides surrounded the two men.)

"I read a piece that said [Rangel's] running again. That'll be his decision," Cuomo told the Observer in a brief interview. "If he runs, he'll be a formidable candidate. You can feel the support in the room. And we'll take it from there."

I asked Cuomo -- a governor who hasn't left the state since taking office -- if he would travel outside New York to help elect President Obama.

"I would help the president in any way that I can," Cuomo said. "I think it's very important that we re-elect him. So, any way that I can help him, I will. I'm going to see him in the next couple of days," Cuomo noted. "I was with him last week at a fund-raiser." (The governor meant a fund-raiser for Obama; the president was not in attendance.)

In the lobby outside the third floor ballroom, the organizers of the event displayed a picture of Rangel, smiling, walking through a doorway with a smiling President Obama standing to the side. President Obama -- who will be in NYC tonight for a series of fund-raisers -- had said last year amid Rangel's controversy that the 20-term congressman should end his career "with dignity," which many people took to be the president's call for Rangel to resign rather than go through an embarrassing ethics investigation.

Rangel has cited the need to support Obama as one reason for continuing in Congress, and on stage, the congressman spoke positively about the president, saying he's faced unprecedented obstruction from Republican lawmakers.

"The truth of the matter is, when a handful of people are prepared to take down our great country, to go to the cliff and tell the whole world that you can't depend on us to pay [what] we owe, we are in trouble," he said.

Rangel introduced the night's emcee, former Governor David Paterson, whom Rangel incorrectly said "became a lawyer" before going on to serve as a State Senator and became "one of the most outstanding governor's we've had in our great state." (Paterson never actually became a lawyer, but did work for the Queens district attorney.)

Comedian Paul Mooney -- wearing a red cap with the word "Harlem" written in sequence, said he liked Rangel. "He reminds me of Adam Clayton Powell," the comedian said. "That's why I like him. He's a double agent. He looks like a white man."

Rangel replaced Powell in 1970, and has been challenged twice by his son, Adam Clayton Powell IV.

Rangel's actual birthday was two months ago, on June 11, but his wife Alma's birthday is August 12th, the congressman told the audience. He presented Alma with a bouquet of roses on stage and when singer Aretha Franklin led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday," the congressman smiled and pointed to his wife.

Among the attendees were a number of likely 2013 mayoral candidates: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former comptroller and 2009 Democratic candidate Bill Thompson, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and -- the only one of them who got to speak from the stage -- current City Comptroller John Liu.

Rep. Joseph Crowley and Rep. Greg Meeks, both of Queens, were in attendance, as was Democratic congressional candidate David Weprin.

On his way out of the event, Weprin bumped into former mayor Ed Koch -- who recently endorsed his opponent, Republican Bob Turner. Weprin shook hands with Koch and turned around to a young man who snapped a photograph of the two men and said, "That's the money shot."

Before the night was over, the crowd was treated to a handful of songs from Aretha Franklin. After singing some new songs -- and, of course, "Respect" and "Happy Birthday," the legendary singer urged the audience to buy her album at either Wal-Mart or "Walmart.com."

Governor Hugh L. Carey opening the I Love New York Fall Festival. (via NYS Archives. Photographer: William Sievert)

2012: "The all-white crowd seemed to thrive on [Ron] Paul's message." [Robert McCarthy / Buffalo News]

2013: “Anyone who says they’re running for mayor, I’ll do a presser with them.” [Tom Wrobleski / SI Advance]

Downgrading: "The Wall Street bean counter who trashed America's global credit reputation is a New Yorker who never studied economics, majored in literature and philosophy, and has a master's in English lit." [Buiso , Burke and Roberts / NY Post]

Remembering Carey: "Hailed for his crisis management during the city's brush with insolvency…His second term bogged down in disputes with the Legislature and seemed lackluster." [AP]

Remembering Carey: "Now the times of plenty, the days of wine and roses, are over.” [Joseph Spector / Poughkeepsie Journal]

Remembering Carey: Slide show. [Democrat and Chronicle]

Remembering Carey: Photos from NYS Archives. Carey's high school yearbook photo.

Remembering Carey: "Schumer was elected to Carey’s Congressional seat after Carey." [Democrat and Chronicle]

Remembering Carey: Launched the "I Love NY campaign." [Ken Lovett / Daily News]

Remembering Carey: "His accomplishments were sometimes overshadowed by gaffes." [NY Post]

Remembering Carey: "[S]pent his final years as governor frustrated. Absent an emergency, he often seemed bored with the job." [Richard Perez-Pena / New York Times]

Schools: "[T]he focus has to be on improving student performance," Cuomo explains. [Michael Gormley / AP]

Schools: Delay in approving $10 million state grant leaves Buffalo schools with "a best-case scenario" of "a month to implement major changes at one of the city's worst schools." [Mary Pasciak / Buffalo News]

Redistricting: Assembly Dems can probably live with whatever a judge does to their districts; Senate Republicans probably cannot. [Casey Seiler / Times Union]

Tax Cap: Peekskill comptroller explains how loophole in Cuomo's tax cap allows for 4.9% tax hike. [Jacob Gershman / WSJ]

Retirement: Bloomberg gets ammunition in fight against higher taxes; spike in number of NYC pension checks sent to retired union members out of NYC. [David Seifman / NY Post]

Toll Hikes: "[Port Authority] proposal comes after three years of zero-percent growth in operating expenses and $5 billion in cuts." [Sumathi Reddy and Lisa Fleisher / WSJ]

Toll Hikes: "[GOP State Senator Fuschilo] acknowledged that it would be up to the governors of New York and New Jersey to stop it." [Ken Lovett / Jonathan Lemire / Daily News]

Toll Hikes: "[P]rivately, the Cuomo administration signed off on the plan within the past week." [Michael Grynbaum / NewYork Times]

Toll Hikes: Cuomo and Christie sources say they were unaware of hikes. "PA has floated astronomical hikes before, only to scale them back in an orchestrated dance with politicians that lets them save face with outraged commuters." [Dicker, Margolin and Haddon / NY Post]

Investigations: Rep. Meeks $40,000 loan from Edul Ahmad looks more like a gift, House Ethics Committee said. [Devlin Barrett / WSJ]

Investigations: "There appears to be no evidence that there were any normal (signs) of a legitimate loan under House rules," said House Ethics report. [Benjamin Lesser / Daily News]

Investigations: "Meeks refused to cooperate with investigators and refused to turn over loan documents." [Geoff Earle / NY Post]

Investigations: "Asian Donald Trump" under investigation from Attorney General's office. [Heather Haddon / NY Post]

Jobs: Guy who served one month as prime minster of Somalia back to work at NYS Dept. of Transportation. [Jay Rey / Buffalo News]

Jobs: Councilman Greenfield's salary at non-profit was 65% of their total expenses. [Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein / NY Post]

Jobs: Bratton would "consider" a job in Scotland Yard. [Tina Moore / Daily News]

(via: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nedemocracy/)

The House Ethics Committee cleared today Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of an allegation he received an improper loan in 2010, but said they're still looking into his failure to disclose a 2007 payment in a timely manner.

The 2010 loan Meeks, of Queens, received was, according to the Committee, "made on commercially reasonable terms. The loan was supported by a recorded written agreement establishing an interest rate, collateral, and repayment terms."

The 2007 charge is still being reviewed. The Daily News reported that Meeks received a $40,000 loan that year but repaid it "only when the FBI started asking questions."

The $40,000 came from Ed Ahmad, a local businessman who was recently blocked from leaving the country after he was arrested and released on bail.