SANTA ANA : 2nd Group Asks for Civil Rights Inquiry

A second group has asked the U.S. attorney general to initiate a civil rights investigation into allegations that a landlord and property managers have harassed the owners of a Santa Ana jazz club because it attracts a largely black clientele.

The club’s co-owner, Santa Ana mayoral candidate Randell Young, filed a civil lawsuit in July against the property managers, New York-based Cushman & Wakefield, as well as former landlord Nansay USA of Santa Monica and current landlord Orix Corp., which is based in Tokyo.

On Friday, the leaders of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, said they have joined 100 Black Men of Orange County Inc. in calling for a federal civil rights investigation, alleging that the property owners and managers have repeatedly interfered with business at Randell’s, a jazz club at Hutton Centre.

Officials for Cushman & Wakefield, which manages the property for Orix, declined to comment.

Eric Yokeno, owner of Nansay USA, did not return several phone calls.

Steve Berry, a spokesman for the Los Angeles office of the FBI, which conducts such investigations, said Friday the department had no knowledge of either request.

Young’s suit alleged that the defendants made threats against Young, scheduled maintenance to interfere with business during peak hours and refused to allow installation of cable services for Randell’s.

In a Wednesday letter to Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, LULAC spokesman Arturo Montez said that the landlords and property managers “have violated the civil rights of the owners and minority patrons of Randell’s . . . because its clientele consists largely of African Americans.”

In September, 100 Black Men, a group of black leaders in the county, called for a similar civil rights investigation.