Mendoza, Zollinger in tussle
Gallup mayor accosts Independent publisher Bob in bank parking lot

Independent publisher Robert Zollinger displays injuries and torn clothing sustained in a physical altercation with Gallup Mayor Harry Mendoza at a downtown Gallup bank on Wednesday. — © 2010 Gallup Independent / Adron Gardner

Copyright © 2010
Gallup Independent
By Bernie Dotson and Phil Stake
Staff writers

GALLUP — The mayor of Gallup and the publisher of the city’s daily newspaper were the subjects of a physical altercation Wednesday in the parking lot of a downtown bank.

Bob Zollinger, publisher of the Independent, said he’ll “weigh the options,” when asked if he intends to pursue criminal charges against Mayor Harry Mendoza. Zollinger, 59, said he was entering Pinnacle Bank, 307 W. Aztec Ave., at about 11 a.m., when he ran into Mendoza, 78. The two exchanged sardonic greetings. Zollinger and Mendoza have been at odds ever since the Independent first published an article highlighting Mendoza’s alleged involvement in a June 1948 gang-style rape.

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