Infamous ‘pig house’ could be torn down as soon as this month

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After more than 20-years, the so-called “pig house,” could be torn down as soon as this month. The house on Mesilla Street, near the fairgrounds, has been a target of the city of Albuquerque for more than 20-years. Larry Barker investigations have also shown the homeowner hoards everything from broken down cars to pigs.

John Gallegos has been a problem for the city and his neighbors for years. “I was very pleased that the council decided that they would proceed with the demolition of this house and cleaning up the property,” says James Mondloch, who lives right across the street.

Monday night, city council voted 7-1 to condemn the property. Gallegos now has 10-days to either file an appeal or demolish the home himself. “The city, if the owner has not done the work himself, the city will then undertake the job and have the home demolished,” says Planning & Zoning Director, Brennon Williams.

While it’s been more than two decades to get to this point, the city says it wanted to be as fair as possible to Gallegos and give him as many chances as possible to get his act together. “There’s a process that we have to follow. Think about what we’re doing here. We’re knocking down somebody’s home,” says Williams.

Because of the ongoing fight for so many years, Gallegos’ neighbor, Mondloch, doesn’t think his neighbor will go down without a fight. “John already has plans, I think, to bring additional junk into the area. The city will just have to keep on John,” he says.

The city has a permanent injunction on the house now, which means, even if Gallegos keeps dumping trash on the property after the home is torn down, crews can come in and clean it up. The city doesn’t believe Gallegos will appeal the council’s decision. If he doesn’t tear down the house in 10-days, the city will do it within a month from now.