THE ISSUE: Ex-Met pitcher Jerry Koosman’s prison sentence for not paying taxes.

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I was a little shocked to read that Jerry Koosman, one of my favorite Mets, was sentenced to jail for tax evasion (“Ex-Met Is Sent to Pen,” Sept. 4).

What is more sad is that Rep. Charlie Rangel, the man who writes our tax laws, seems to be immune.

Will the government think of charging Rangel and possibly sending him to jail? I doubt it.

Glen Benjamin

Airmont

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Koosman did wrong and has to pay. That’s the rules.

But will the guy in the adjoining cell be Rangel? If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were sincere, which, of course, she’s not, she’d get hold of US District Judge Barbara Crabb.

Crabb figured out in record time that Koosman was guilty. I’m sure she could do the same for Rangel.

Now, that would be a grand slam.

Jeff Rickey

Manalapan, NJ

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Koosman didn’t pay his taxes and got six months. Rangel cheated on his taxes, maintained illegal rent-controlled apartments, hid property he owned in New Jersey and didn’t report income he made in the Caribbean.

Pelosi will support Rangel unless he does something embarrassing. Do Democrats have any shame?

Frank Derato

Norwalk, Conn.

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Rangel continues to avoid any of the same pesky legal problems that Koosman or any of the rest of us face.

Pelosi and crew can’t even bring themselves to bring about a credible ethics investigation, let alone throw him out.

Every Mets fan and every tax-paying American should contact their congressperson and demand action.

O. Pedersen

Forest Hills