What Really Happened in Astor's House

(NEWSER) - Meryl Gordon has a plum seat at the so-called Brooke Astor trial, in which her son, Anthony Marshall, stands accused of thievery. Complete with the crème de la crème of New York society recounting terrible things and scathing Astorisms, Gordon writes in Vanity Fair, it’s a “story about money that everyone could understand, that did not involve credit-default swaps or derivatives: a son accused of stealing from his mother.” And the press is all over it. More»

Charlene Marshall berated 101-year-old in hospital: witness

(NEWSER) - Brooke Astor’s daughter-in-law berated the 101-year-old socialite for breaking her hip in 2003, the New York Post reports. “We had to cancel our trip to London all because of you!” Charlene Marshall groused to the hospitalized Astor, according to testimony from housekeeper Angela Moore. Anthony Marshall is accused of changing his mother’s will to steal millions earmarked for charity. More»

(NEWSER) - Brooke Astor spent her final years in a haze as her faculties deserted her, her butler testified yesterday at the fraud trial of Astor’s son Anthony Marshall. As early as 1997, Astor’s memory started to fail her, leaving her unable to recall her servants’ names or even what a squirrel was, the New York Daily News reports. “She would point out the window and ask, ‘What animal is that?’” recalled Chris Ely. More»

Pal accepted gifts of bling from woman she says was senile

(NEWSER) - When it comes to bling, “Brooke Astor makes Ludacris look like a rank amateur,” writes Joanna Molloy of the New York Daily News. Defense lawyer Ken Warner put those jewels center stage yesterday, questioning Annette de la Renta, a key prosecution witness, on why she accepted a $100,000 necklace from Astor in December 2001 when she, according to her earlier testimony, had found Astor confused and senile in her reaction to 9/11. More»

Socialite takes stand, leads 'tour' of heiress' $29M apartment

(NEWSER) - Socialite Annette de la Renta—clad in a cashmere dress probably designed by hubby Oscar—gave jurors in the Anthony Marshall trial a virtual tour of Brooke Astor's properties yesterday, which sparked the imagination of Joanna Molloy of the New York Daily News. "You could just read their thought bubbles," she writes. "'Wow! Brooke Astor's foyer is bigger than my apartment!'" More»