This is another one of those stories that’s surprising because you expect a college professor to be above this sort of behavior.

Fox News in New York reported.

Princeton professor accused of stealing lawn signs

Police have charged a Princeton University professor with stealing lawn signs belonging to a computer repair business.

Owner Ted Horodynsky tells The Times his signs began to disappear after a traffic incident with professor John Mulvey. Horodynsky says he set up a surveillance camera which showed Mulvey driving off with the signs that he placed on clients’ lawns.

Mulvey tells the newspaper he was just picking up debris. The 67-year-old professor of operations research and financial engineering says some people don’t like the signs and throw them in the woods. Mulvey says he makes it his job to pick them up.

All 21 signs have been recovered and have a total value of $471.