Mistrial Looms in Astor Trial After 19 Weeks

Offspring swindled socialite, jury finds after lengthy trial

(NEWSER) - After a sensational 19-week trial, Brooke Astor's son was found guilty today on 16 of the 18 counts against him, including grand larceny and conspiracy. The 85-year-old will be sentenced on Dec. 8 and faces up to 25 years. The jury deliberated for 12 days before finding that the legendary socialite and philanthropist's only child had defrauded her of a hefty chunk of her $185 million fortune. Astor, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died in 2007 at 105. 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»

Author Auchincloss told her son's lawyer she didn't recognize him

(NEWSER) - A longtime friend of philanthropist Brooke Astor testified yesterday that her faculties were so deteriorated the last time he saw her that she did not recognize him, the New York Daily News reports. Author Louis Auchincloss said the encounter took place 2 years before Astor allegedly changed her will, awarding $60 million earmarked for charities to her son, Anthony Marshall—who’s currently on trial for fraud. More»

Her son also convinced her she was going broke

(NEWSER) - A decade before her death, Brooke Astor was so out of it that she couldn’t recognize Jesse Jackson, a prosecution witness testified today in the fraud trial against Astor’s son, the New York Daily News reports. Anthony Marshall’s defense rides on his mother’s mental state, with the prosecution charging that he took advantage of her deteriorated state to raid family coffers. More»

Anthony Marshall exploited mom's dementia to funnel fortune to him, says prosecutor.

(NEWSER) - Brooke Astor's son "dragged" his frail mom from her nurse's arms to a closed-door meeting about her will, which was immediately changed in his favor, according to the prosecutor at the heir's fraud and grand larceny trial yesterday in New York. Anthony Marshall exploited his vulnerable mother's dementia to manipulate her into leaving a larger chunk of her $198 million fortune to him rather than charities, as she originally intended, the attorney added. More»