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City Sues Perry South Homeowner Because Of Piles Of Garbage On Property

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The City of Pittsburgh is asking a judge to force a homeowner in the Perry South neighborhood to either clean up the piles of trash and garbage outside his home or let them go onto his property to clean it themselves.

City officials went to court Wednesday with a lawsuit.

The home is located in the 2600-block of Maple Avenue.

Garbage is piled several feet high outside the home, and neighbors say the house has no running water or gas.

In the lawsuit filed by the city, it contends the property is a public nuisance and constitutes a serious public health and safety hazard.

It says homeowner Joseph Regoli has received notices about the trash problems since 2009, and has pretty much ignored them.

The Allegheny County Health Department last month said the home was unfit for human habitation.

Neighbor Ken Perkins told KDKA-TV News he's lived on the street for 32 years, and for the past decade, he has complained to the city about Regoli's filth-filled house.

"It attracts rats," said Perkins. A couple of rats got into my house, in the walls, and started scratching."

Another neighbor, Bill Schillinger was walking his dog on Maple Avenue.

"It's terrible, every time I walk by, it's gotten out of hand," Schillinger said.

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