Third of a series. Find parts one here and two here.

Martha Coakley is caught making false statements on financial disclosure form, does not report $262,000 in assets.

Now this is a story that only Charles Rangel could love. One of Coakley’s selling points among the plutocratic liberals of the greater Boston area is that she’s honest, since unlike a lot of other politicians, she doesn’t seem to have enriched herself unduly while “serving” at the public trough. As proof, she’s offered her financial-disclosure statements.

Oops! From the Boston Globe last November:

Coakley admits to federal filing error

Attorney General Martha Coakley, the state’s top lawyer, acknowledged yesterday that she improperly filled out a federal financial disclosure she submitted to the US Senate as part of her candidacy in the special election.

The Globe reported yesterday that Coakley was the only candidate, in disclosures due to the Senate by this week, to report that neither she nor her spouse had any reportable financial asset worth more than $1,000.


But her campaign said Coakley failed to list $200,000 to $250,000 in financial assets that are held by her husband, Thomas F. O’Connor Jr. The campaign said Coakley also failed to note a retirement account she holds that is worth $12,000.

It was…… a somewhat embarrassing omission for a perceived front-runner who oversees the state’s legal affairs.

Naturally, a campaign spokeswoman dismissed the whole thing as “mistake” – Democrat-speak for “you got me!” – and promised to file amended returns “as quickly as possible” – Democrat-speak for “any time between Hell Freezes Over and Never.”

Are you getting the sense that Attorney General Coakley is not all that well-versed in the laws of her own state or those of the federal government?