Prosecutors Say Astor’s Son Sought to Limit Her Donations
July 28, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Prosecutors in the trial of the son of the New York heiress Brooke Astor have introduced evidence that he reined in his late mother’s charitable spending while using her fortune to finance business ventures and his own giving, says The New York Times.
Anthony D. Marshall is accused to tricking his mother into changing her will and taking advantage of her advanced age and diminished mental state to tap her riches. Ms. Astor died in 2007 at the age of 105, with an estimated fortune of $180-million.
According to prosecutors, in 2003 Mr. Marshall withdrew his mother’s commitment to give the Metropolitan Museum of Art $117,000 to purchase an antique Buddha, telling museum officials that future donations would be limited to $250 to $1,000 due to the cost of her medical care. In the coming year, prosecutors said, he drew on her account to invest $250,000 in a theatrical company, to cover expenses at the family’s Maine summer home, and to meet a $1-million pledge to establish a fund in his name with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Mr. Marshall’s lawyers have argued that his mother had given him the home in Maine and had always supported him financially.
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