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Agent denies vandalizing neighbor's yard

In an e-mail to acquaintances, a Haverford real estate agent has denied wrongdoing in a dispute in which she and her husband are accused of throwing dead mice and snakes on a neighbor's property to sabotage the sale of her house.

Here is the property at 119 Booth Lane in Lower Merion. In an e-mail, realtor Andrea Straub denied that she dumped dead animals on a neighbor's property. (Ed Hille / Staff Photographer)
Here is the property at 119 Booth Lane in Lower Merion. In an e-mail, realtor Andrea Straub denied that she dumped dead animals on a neighbor's property. (Ed Hille / Staff Photographer)Read more

In an e-mail to acquaintances, a Haverford real estate agent has denied wrongdoing in a dispute in which she and her husband are accused of throwing dead mice and snakes on a neighbor's property to sabotage the sale of her house.

"Over the past month, we have been dealing with a bizarre caretaker of our neighbor's home," wrote Andrea Straub, 34, who was charged with her husband, Jonathan, with disorderly conduct for allegedly dumping the animal carcasses.

"The only dispute concerned the caretaker's illegal For Sale by Owner signs he placed throughout our neighbor's property," Andrea Straub wrote in the e-mail, addressed to "friends, colleagues, and neighbors."

"Jonathan asked him to move them; he refused, and then shouted expletives and made threats of calling the cops," she wrote. "That is the entirety of the dispute. Everything else in the news is simply fiction, made up by the caretaker to make a name for himself."

The Straubs have not commented publicly on the incident. The e-mail, obtained by The Inquirer on Tuesday, gives Andrea Straub's account of what this neighborhood kerfuffle is all about.

The Straubs live on Booth Lane, a street of big yards and homes, next to Mary Martell. Martell and the Straubs both are trying to sell their homes.

On June 20, Lower Merion police cited the Straubs for the alleged vandalism.

Andrea Straub was an independent sales agent for Prudential Fox & Roach, which ended its association with her after she and her husband, a part-time sales agent, were charged.

Philadelphia lawyer George Bochetto has said he plans to show that "the Straubs are victims of horrible falsities."

Bochetto said Tuesday he was familiar with the e-mail, but would not comment on it.

Andrea Straub wrote: "I know many of you have read or have seen the outrageous claims in the press and media over the last week. I do not want to mince words here: Jonathan and I have been wrongly accused and are being wrongly vilified in the press and media. We are the victims in this whole debacle."

She said that she and her husband have lived in the same house for nearly a decade, have had cordial relations with neighbors, and are "active members in our community. . . . Jonathan is a lifelong resident of Lower Merion and we both have impeccable personal and professional records."

The couple hired Bochetto "to vindicate our reputation," according to the e-mail. "I am confident we will be vindicated in court and that those responsible for this outrageous, false story will be held accountable."

More information will be presented at a not-yet-scheduled news conference, Bochetto said.

He postponed a Tuesday news conference, saying police were dawdling on releasing evidence requested by the Straubs' attorneys that would back up the couple's version of events.

"The LMPD is proceeding with this case in the same manner as we would in any other summary case," Superintendent Michael McGrath said in response. "This case will be presented in District Court and not in the media."

Martell, who had a house sitter tending her property while she was in the hospital, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.