THE FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL OF
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, INC.,
CYNTHIA BARROS, ROGER
BARROS, and LORI DILLARD
Individually and on behalf
of the GENERAL PUBLIC      Plaintiffs,

v.

No. SACV 00-988-DOC (ANx)

WILLIAM DAVID WINGO and
KAREN WINGO CIPRIANO,
Individually and doing
business as WINGO
PROPERTIES and VINCENT
STANCYK
     Defendants

___________________________________

Plaintiff-intervenor, the United States of America, alleges:

1. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2403(a), the United States intervenes as of right in this action to defend the constitutionality of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619.

2. The Court has jurisdiction of this action under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343, and of this Complaint in Intervention under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1345, 2201, 2403(a), and 42 U.S.C. § 3613(e).

3. Upon information and belief, the defendants William David Wingo and Karen Wingo Cipriano own and manage the Rio Palmas apartment complex in Riverside, California.

4. Upon information and belief, the defendant Vincent Stancyk is employed by the defendants Wingo and Cipriano as a property supervisor at the Rio Palmas apartment complex.

5. The apartments in the Rio Palmas complex are "dwellings" as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 3602(b).

6. In this action, defendant Stancyk has called into question the constitutionality of an Act of Congress affecting the public interest. Specifically, the defendant asserts that the Fair Housing Act cannot constitutionally be applied to prohibit discrimination based on race and sex in the local rental housing market.

7. The Fair Housing Act's prohibition of discrimination based on race and sex in housing is a valid exercise of Congress' authority to regulate interstate commerce pursuant to Art. I, Section 8 of the Constitution.

8. The Fair Housing Act's prohibition of racial discrimination in housing, including discrimination in the form of racial harassment, is a valid exercise of Congress' authority to enforce the Thirteenth Amendment.

WHEREFORE, the United States prays that the Court enter judgment declaring that the Fair Housing Act's prohibition of discrimination based on race and sex in housing, including racial and sexual harassment in housing, is constitutional.

Bill Lann Lee
Assistant Attorney General

Joan A. Magagna
Chief, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section

Timothy J. Moran
Rigel C. Oliveri
Attorneys
Housing and Civil Enforcement Section
Civil Rights Division
United States Department of Justice
P.O. Box 65998
Washington, D.C. 20035
(202) 305-3109

Alejandro N. Mayorkas
United States Attorney

Michele C. Marchand
Assistant United States Attorney
Asset Forfeiture Section
United States Attorney's Office
Room 7516, Federal Building
300 North Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Telephone: (213) 894-6168
Facsimile: (213) 894-7177