Looking gaunt and glum, suburban pot princess Andrea Sanderlin pleaded not guilty to orchestrating a massive pot selling enterprise out of a non-descript Queens warehouse in Brooklyn federal court today .
Sanderlin, 45, was arrested last month after cops found more than 3,000 marijuana plants worth $3 million stashed in a secret Maspeth grow house that she rented, prosecutors allege.
The former Scarsdale equestrian traded in her riding outfit and boots for a crummy green prison jumpsuit and chunky white sneakers during her brief appearance yesterday as she mumbled a not guilty plea to Judge Steven Gold.
Dubbed “Fantastic Enterprises,” her illicit entrepreneurship has drawn comparisons to the popular Showtime series “Weeds” that depicted a suburban family’s pot operation.
“This is not life imitating art,” said her lawyer Corey Winograd after her appearance. “This is real life.”
With her once well maintained bottle blonde mane now giving way to dark roots, the high living mother of two — who rented an $11,000 per month Scarsdale manse before the spectacular bust — looked bedraggled as she shuffled to face the judge in a pair of handcuffs.
“She’s very sad because she’s separated from her children and when she gets out and she’s with her children she’ll be in a better frame of mind,” said Winograd.
The lawyer said Sanderlin — who commuted to her weed warehouse in a gleaming Mercedes Benz — is working out a bail package with prosecutors and could be back home with her children as soon as next week.
The stunning bust came after ConEd alerted investigators about suspiciously high levels of electricity that were in use at the thriving ganja facility.
She faces up to ten years in jail if convicted.