PLAISTOW – Officials at New England Reptile Distributors insist they never "set up" the owner of a reptile store in East Hampstead charged in connection with the theft of a rare ball python.



Ryan Caron, manager of NERD Inc. in Plaistow, denied the accusations made by Lee Graham, the attorney for CV Exotics owner Scott Seavey.



"It's pretty ludicrous," Caron said of the allegation that Seavey was being set up by NERD because they are competitors.



Seavey, 37, of 33 Haseltine St., Haverhill, Mass., is charged with one felony count of receiving stolen property. Police said he bought the rare 10-inch python from another man, Joshua Rogoff, 28, of Plaistow.



Rogoff is charged with stealing the $15,000 snake from New England Reptile in August, then selling it to Seavey for $500.



Rogoff waived his probable cause hearing in Plaistow District Court yesterday.



Seavey has denied he knew what type of snake he purchased. He also said he didn't know the axanthic killer bee ball python came from NERD when Rogoff brought it into his store.



Police and NERD disagree, saying Seavey once worked for New England Reptile and is familiar with the breeding done there.



Seavey's lawyer has questioned whether police can prove that the snake was unique because he asserts there are dozens of different species with similar markings.



But NERD owner Kevin McCurley said he is the only snake breeder to ever produce this particular black and white python.



"That's just not true. That's someone with no expertise making that statement," Caron said.



McCurley said other snakes have vanished from his business over the years, some of which were stolen by employees.



The thefts have forced NERD to tighten security and has made McCurley less trusting of people.



"We have had supposed 'friends' steal snakes from us while visiting," he said.

www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Reptile business denies setup in theft case&articleId=ca7a3637-c85f-41e0-91fa-9f9571a969e6

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• Reptile business denies setup - EricWI, Mon Nov 2 11:55:44 2009