What Really Happened in Astor's House

Millionaire's former staff say abusive son bilked her of $60M
By Rebecca Smith Hurd,  Newser User
Posted Nov 16, 2008 6:08 PM CST
What Really Happened in Astor's House
Anthony D. Marshall, center, is escorted by officers in to Manhattan state supreme court, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, in New York. Marshall, the son of philanthropist Brooke Astor, was accused Tuesday of plundering his mother's $198 million estate and conspiring to have the Alzheimer's-stricken socialite...   (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

A new book about Brooke Astor portrays the New York philanthropist as a frail, paranoid 105-year-old pressured to give up her fortune. Drawing on notes from Astor's former staff, Mrs. Astor Regrets describes son Tony Marshall's alleged bilking of her millions. Astor's staff "filled 30 journals over four years with what they described as abuse, neglect and manipulation of the Alzheimer's sufferer," writes Meryl Gordon in her book, excerpted in the New York Post.

The staff eventually told the family about Marshall's manipulations—including the day he ignored Astor's protests and dragged her down the hall to sign over $60 million in assets. Marshall and his lawyer both face trial in January. "Things were much worse than I ever could have imagined," Astor's grandson said.



(More Brooke Astor stories.)

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