Anthony Marshall, the son of Brooke Astor, one of New York City’s most celebrated philanthropists, is moving from his posh penthouse to a bigger house – in fact, the really Big House. He was sentenced to jail today (Dec. 21) for strealing millions of dollars from his frail mother in a case of geezer greed gone wild.
After hearing arguments, state Supreme Court Justice A. Kirke Bartley sentenced Marshall, 85, to the minimum term for his crimes. The judge cited Marshall’s military service and valor in World War II as a mitigating factor.
“It is a paradox to me that such abundance has led to such incredible sadness,” Bartley said from the bench.
During the trial, prosecutors called celebrity friends such as ABC 20/20 host Barbara Walters and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to testify on Astor’s behalf. The state painted her son as a scheming heir who couldn’t wait for her to die to get his hands on her money.
“The defendant’s economic and social standing shouldn’t put him above the herd,” said Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann. “He shouldn’t be treated as anything other than a common thief.”
But Marshall lined up his own celebrities as character witnesses, including NBC “Today Show” weatherman Al Roker, a parishioner at Marshall’s church, who praised him as a “good son, father and patriot.”
Actress Whoopi Goldberg a friend and neighbor, told the judge in a letter that jailing him “would only amount to an unnecessary cruelty that would serve no real purpose.”
Marshall has until Jan. 19 to provide his medical information to prison officials in advance of his incarceration, but he likely won’t see the inside of a jail cell anytime soon.
His lawyers are already preparing a battery of appeals and will likely see to keep him out of jail on bail. They called him a dutiful son and patriot who believed his mother wanted him to have the money he stole.
Lawyers are also expected to argue that Marshall is too frail to spend time in jail.
Astor lived a vigorous life and gave away almost $200 million to charities. She supported supported everything from Carnegie Hall to church charities. In 1998, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor by President Bill Clinton.
But in her final years, she was frail, addled and often incoherent. She was suffering from Alzheimer’s when she died at 105 in 2007.
Beside stealing money, Marshall became embroiled in a bitter struggle over his mother’s care and at times, despite her vast fortune, she reportedly slept on a urine soaked sofa and ate nothing but pureed peas and oatmeal.
“I think the fairest way to think about it is that there is a man who, maybe, felt entitled — and in hindsight felt too entitled — but he’s not somebody who simply stuck his hand in the cookie jar when no one was looking,” defense lawyer John R. Cuti said before the sentencing.
Co-defendant Francis X. Morrissey Jr., 67, an estate lawyer also faces a possible jail sentence for helping Marshall steal his mother’s money.
