Troubled trailer park owner drops fight against BIA
Harvey Duro, the owner of a troubled trailer park on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Reservation in southern California, is giving up after years of battles with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Duro, a tribal council member, said he will agree to closure of the Desert Mobile Home Park, also known as Duroville. The facility has been in receivership due to health and safety problems and Duro said he isn't benefiting.

"They're using my property and using my equipment there, but I'm getting nothing out of it," Duro told he Riverside Press Enterprise. "To me, they're in trespass because I have no say in it."

Duro also accused the U.S. Attorney for Central California and Judge Stephen Larson of discrimination. "They're all in it together, the judge, the prosecutors," Duro said. "If I can't get a fair shake, why not close?"

An estimated 3,000 resident, mostly Indian and Hispanic workers from Mexico and Central South America, live at Duroville. The BIA is seeking $25 million to relocate them.

Get the Story:
Duroville mobile home park owner says he won't fight closure (The Riverside Press Enterprise 2/24)

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