Congressman Ed Towns - And His Wife Gwen...

Congressman Ed Towns - And His Wife Gwen...

Inside Edition

Photo of Gwen Towns, the wife of Brooklyn Congressman Ed Towns, using a car paid for by Towns’ campaign funds to tool around Brooklyn. (Inside Edition)

When Congressman Ed Towns retires at the end of this year, it might be his wife, Gwen, who misses the perks the most.

Towns, as the Daily News has reported, has a taste for high-end rides and used some of his congressional office budget to lease a Ford Mercury for $ 1,285 a month last year with taxpayers picking up the bill, a move that breaks no rules advocates said.

But when Inside Edition did their own search recently they found Gwen Towns was tooling around in an Infinity paid for by the congressmans campaign fund at $ 602 a month.

Election campaign rules give a congressman very wide discretion on what falls under bonified campaign expenses, but having your wife run around in a campaign car could push the boundaries of creative interpretation, said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center in Washington DC.

If Gwen Towns is doing campaign work, or minor incidental use, it wouldnt be a problem, McGehee said.

Anything more than that, and she or the Towns family should reimburse the campaign organization for use of the car.

Gwen Towns used the campaign-financed infinity to drive to her job at Interfaith Hospital in Brooklyn, Inside Edition found. The drives included stops at the dry cleaners and car wash, but no obvious campaign events.

Towns, as the Daily News first reported, is not seeking re-election after 15 terms representing Brooklyn.

He had taken some heat on his leases, and this year swapped his Ford, paid for by his congressional office budget, for a cheaper lease of a Lincoln MKZ hybrid, for $ 957 a month, Inside Edition found.

A Towns campaign spokesman could not say if Gwen Towns was reimbursing the campaign for the vehicle.