Probe Sought in Discovery of Old Graves

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich has called for an investigation into why the MTA was unable to detect a recently unearthed mass grave – believed to belong mostly to Chinese immigrants who died a century ago – before it began building an extension of the Gold Line through Boyle Heights last June.

Antonovich’s request is in response to anger among some in the Chinese American community, who believe the MTA was slow in revealing that the remains were predominantly Asian so construction would not be delayed. They also accuse MTA workers of not properly handling the bones and artifacts.

MTA officials have denied the charges, saying they did not know they were dealing with mostly Asian remains until weeks ago and that all the remains were being cared for by an archeological firm.

“We welcome the investigation and we will be helpful and as open as we can,” said agency spokesman Jose Ubaldo. “The most important thing is that we offer the proper respect and do the right thing. We will reinter the remains with a proper ceremony, not just for the Chinese community, but all the ethnic groups that were found there.”

The MTA said 108 sets of remains were found June 22 at the site on Lorena and 1st streets. The majority were Asian males, which historians say proves the site was most likely part of a long lost Chinese cemetery dating from the late 1800s that disappeared sometime after the 1920s. Workers also found opium pipes, jade jewelry and rice bowls.

The cemetery was created because Chinese, who at the time could neither marry nor own property here, were prohibited from being buried with whites in places such as the adjacent Evergreen Cemetery. Instead, they were charged $10 by the county to be interred with non-Asian indigents, who were buried for free.

“These Chinese immigrant laborers helped build the rail infrastructure that allowed Los Angeles County to prosper economically, and they were interred in a manner that lacked the proper dignity and respect that should have been accorded,” Antonovich said in a written statement.

He said Friday in a telephone interview that the MTA appeared to be “sweeping the discovery under the rug” and, if that was proved true, he expected disciplinary action to be taken.

MTA officials said they had found no record of the old Chinese cemetery before embarking on the $898-million project that will link Union Station to East L.A.

In addition to the investigation, Antonovich has called on the MTA to provide a “dignified and fitting burial for the discovered remains, and work with the appropriate cultural and historical agencies to devise a memorial.”

The MTA has 90 days to report back to the supervisors after the investigation is officially requested at the county board meeting Thursday, Antonovich said.