Brooke Astor's Son Guilty on 16 Counts, Faces 25 Years

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»

Jury showing signs of strain after 19 Weeks

(NEWSER) - After a 5-month trial, the jury deciding the fate of Brooke Astor’s son may be at the breaking point. One juror wants out because she fears for her personal safety, the judge revealed today, a day after he felt compelled to deliver a pep talk in court urging jurors to "hang in there a bit longer." If Justice A. Kirke Bartley has to dismiss the juror, it would mean a mistrial. The jury is in its 10th day of deliberations. More»

(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»

(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»