Andrea Sanderlin Update: Scarsdale mom pleads guilty to running massive marijuana-growing operation
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - A woman from a wealthy New York City suburb has pleaded guilty to running a multimillion-dollar marijuana-growing operating in a Queens warehouse.
PHOTOS: NY mom pleads guilty to running massive pot operation
Andrea Sanderlin of Scarsdale admitted Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court that she operated the facility between 2009 and 2013.
In a statement, she said the operation grew at least 1,000 pot plants and that it "sold the marijuana product from the plants."
Her arrest in May sparked comparisons to the TV series "Weeds." The show chronicled a fictional California woman's attempt to support her family by raising marijuana.
Sanderlin first came under suspicion after U.S. Drug Enforcement agents found that a Consolidated Edison utility account linked to her was being used to power lighting, irrigation and ventilation at a Queens warehouse, court papers said. The operation was listed under the name Fantastic Enterprises.
The agents tailed the mother of three driving a Mercedes from Scarsdale to Queens and back and stopped her May 20, the complaint said. After getting a warrant, they searched the warehouse and found more than 2,800 pot plants and large amounts of dried marijuana, officials said. The plants were worth an estimated $3 million on the street.
The 45-year-old mother of three is out on $500,000 bail and faces 10 years in prison at sentencing.