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Well-To-Do Scarsdale Community Stunned By Mom's Pot Hot House Arrest

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- She has nice clothes, an expensive car, and a rented house in the affluent suburbs. But a Westchester County mom is suspected of living a double life.

She was being held without bail Wednesday for allegedly running a marijuana cultivation business in Queens, CBS 2's Lou Young reported.

The big house on Saxon Woods Road has become a curiosity. The home's shades were drawn Wednesday, with the house apparently unoccupied. The home was bearing all the outward signs of affluence that comes with living in Scarsdale.

That the lifestyle might have been financed by a pot cultivation business has raised eyebrows.

"It's very bizarre. For me, it's strange," local nanny Angela Palmiri said.

"You would never think a 45-year-old woman, especially in this nice area," neighbor Linda Tibaldi added.

Queens marijuana growing operation
Queens marijuana growing operation (credit: DEA)

The only image of the woman in question available is her on horseback. Andrea Sandelin kept a low profile, but lived well before her arrest last month. Her youngest girl attended toddler sing-alongs in Scarsdale, accompanied by a nannie. Her 13-year-old road horses at Twin Lake Farms in Bronxville with her mom.

"She told me she worked in interior design. I know nothing about interior design, so I took it at face value. She didn't smoke. I never even saw her with a cup of coffee in her hands. She had two kids. She just seemed like all the rest of our moms," Twin Lake Farms owner Scott Tarter said.

Despite the seeming inconsistencies, the people here said she was not part of the equestrian world, but rather someone who sought to become part of. The people said she'd only been riding for eight months, but were still shocked to learn of the arrest.

"She was just like all the other moms here. Come, sit; we'd hang out and watch the kids," fellow rider Maddy Kerbel said.

Except, the feds say, she spent her days running the pot hot house in Maspeth, Queens. Neighbors there said they saw the agents swoop in.

"I was shocked. I can't believe it, especially in little Maspeth on a side street no one even knows of," one resident said.

Sandelin remained in jail Wednesday and was due to see judge again at the end of the week.

If convicted, Sandelin could get 10 years in federal prison.

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