Scarsdale took a hit of the heat-lamp-cast spotlight back in late May when divorced mom Andrea Sanderlin was arrested for allegedly running a multimillion-dollar marijuana-growing operation of around 2,800 well-kept plants out of a Queens warehouse. Before Sanderlin heads back to court on the 24th, here’s a recap of all the slow-motion action.
The Good: The unsolicited spotlight on our parts could have (has) been worse. Outlets like ABC News talked up “tony Scarsdale,” which the International Business Times described as the “upscale Westchester-area neighborhood where properties sell for between $1.2 million and $2.4 million.” The Daily Beast elaborated, “The suburb is well-known for its wealth, excellent public school system, and legendary SAT scores.”
The BAd: As tends to be the case with such parent-instigated dramas, Sanderlin’s two young daughters may get the worst of the fallout. While mom—who reportedly hasn’t had a legit job since 1993—has been out on $500,000 bond since July, she faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and up to $10 million in fines if convicted.
And since feds searched Sanderlin’s leased Saxon Woods Road home, the family has been evicted from the four-bedroom, five-bathroom, 5,400-square-foot Spanish-style residence.
The ugly: While one oblivious neighbor told The Daily Beast, “The only strange thing I noticed when [Sanderlin] moved in is that someone built a modern house in Scarsdale with only a two-car garage,” other acquaintances have been less tactful in their in-retro appraisals of the Virginia Beach native.
Another neighbor said it was obvious Sanderlin’s suspicious boyfriend (her younger daughter’s father) “wasn’t a dad who put on a shirt and tie and took the 7:04 to the City.’” Of the so-called pot mom’s show-off spoils, a “friend” ragged to the Beast, “She was into plastic surgery. She got a Brazilian butt lift that she actually went to Brazil for.”
Still, one loyal, five-year friend defended the budding entrepreneur: “She’s not a villain…just a regular person who, for whatever reason, decided this was the way she was going to make it as a single mom. It wasn’t like a double life. It was just a life.”
