In any contentious political race, both sides are bound to accuse each other of stealing, defacing and blocking lawn signs.

But a local woman says state Rep. Mario Scavello overreacted when he believed that she was stealing signs from his campaign for the 40th State Senate District.

Carol Nevil, 74, says Scavello followed her car from Tannersville to East Stroudsburg on Friday afternoon, believing she had Scavello campaign signs. But when police searched her vehicle, they came up empty. She says she didn't steal the signs.

Scavello maintains that he had credible information that Nevil stole the signs, and Stroud Area Regional Police have that information as well.

SARP officers pulled over Nevil, but have filed no charges in the case. Chief William Parrish was unavailable to comment Sunday.

Nevil supports Scavello's opponent in the 40th, Mark Aurand, and has written letters to the editor against Scavello. But she says she has never stolen or destroyed campaign signs.

She says she felt threatened Friday afternoon, when Scavello followed her vehicle from his office in Tannersville for more than 10 miles.

"My blood pressure, who knows what it was," Nevil said. "The scary part was that he followed me all the way down."

About a mile from her home, she was pulled over by two officers from SARP. Scavello also stopped nearby. The officers told her they received a complaint about stealing signs. They said the complainant had identified a gray-colored GMC truck with Aurand signs in the bed. At the time, she was driving her son Jeffrey's truck, which matched that description.

She said Scavello made things worse when he approached her vehicle during the traffic stop, and told her that he would be pressing charges.

"I think he was definitely wrong to follow me like that. he's like a bully who can't get his way," she said.

Scavello said Sunday that he did follow Nevil, but that he had good reason to do so.

He said the campaign has been on high alert for signs being stolen, after they lost between 300-400 during the race so far.

He said someone called his campaign office that morning to report that an elderly woman was stealing signs on North Fifth Street in Stroudsburg. The caller said the woman was driving sandy-colored GMC with Aurand signs in the back.

A few minutes later, Nevil's truck was spotted by a staffer in the parking lot behind Scavello's office building.

"He said, 'The car that lady called on is in the back parking lot. That identical car," Scavello said.

Scavello ruled out the possibility that the staffer mistakenly identified Nevil's vehicle, maintaining that Nevil's truck was indeed the one the caller described.

"There was no misjudgment," he said. "They described that car to a T."

He said he tried to confront Nevil at the office, but she drove away. So Scavello and the staffer hopped in his vehicle and followed her while they called 911.

Scavello says he believes that Nevil dumped the signs sometime before she came to his office.

Scavello said he hoped to send the message that he will not tolerate Democratic supporters stealing campaign signs, and he's confident that Nevil was one of those doing it.

"I'm just looking for them to stop," he said. "I think it's ridiculous they do it to begin with."

He's so adamant that Nevil is the responsible for stealing signs, that he offered to pledge $500 to the charity of Nevil's choice if she takes a polygraph test.

"If he wants me to take a polygraph test, he should go into anger management," Nevil said.