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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES CALIFORNIA APARTMENT COMPLEX OWNERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today sued the owners and manager of two apartment complexes in Riverside, Calif., alleging that they discriminated against black apartment seekers and tenants and sexually harassed female tenants.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana alleges that Vincent Stancyk, the property manager, discriminated against black apartment seekers at the Rio Palmas apartment complex by throwing away their rental applications and by instructing subordinates not to rent to blacks or refer them to other properties. The complaint also alleges that Mr. Stancyk used racial epithets toward black tenants and threatened them with eviction, and that Mr. Stancyk subjected female tenants to repeated, unwelcome sexual comments and offered them privileges in exchange for sexual acts.

The suit also names as defendants William David Wingo and Karen Wingo Cipriano, who do business as Wingo Properties. These defendants owned the Rio Palmas apartment complex until May 1999, and they currently own another complex in Riverside, the Las Casitas. They employed Mr. Stancyk as a property manager at the Rio Palmas, and they continue to employ him in this position at Las Casitas. The suit alleges that Mr. Wingo and Ms. Cipriano knew or should have known about the harassment and discrimination and they failed to take action to stop or prevent it.

"The conduct at issue here is deeply offensive, striking at the heart of our fundamental right to be free for discrimination on the basis of race or gender," said Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. "That right is sacred, and my office and the Justice Department are both committed to protecting that right as vigorously as the law permits."

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for victims of the discrimination and harassment, as well as civil penalties and injunctive relief barring further discrimination. A similar lawsuit filed in October 2000 by three of the alleged victims of discrimination at Rio Palmas Apartments is pending in federal court.

Anyone who has information about this case, or believes he or she was a victim of discrimination at the Rio Palmas or Las Casitas Apartments in Riverside, Calif., should call the Justice Department's Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at 1-800-896-7743.

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