Astor’s son indicted in case over estate
NEW YORK - The son of the late New York philanthropist and socialite Brooke Astor has been indicted, along with his lawyer, on charges connected with their handling of her nearly $200 million estate, lawyers and associates of the family said Monday.
The indictment of Astor’s 83-year-old son, Anthony Marshall, and Francis Morrissey Jr. by a New York grand jury will be unsealed today, and the men were told to surrender to the Manhattan district attorney, according to those close to the case.
A lawyer for Morrissey, Michael Ross, said he learned from the DA’s office that his client faces arraignment, but he did not know the exact nature of the charges. A statement from Marshall’s lawyer, Kenneth Warner, will not be issued until today, his office said. The district attorney’s office did not return a call seeking comment Monday night.
Marshall, Astor’s only child, had been her legal guardian when his son, Philip Marshall, 54, went public in 2006 with accusations that the elder Marshall was enriching himself at the expense of Astor’s estate and allowing his grandmother to live in squalor.
Additional accusations, lobbed by family friends, soon cropped up in New York tabloids.
Anthony Marshall denied it, but in 2006 he agreed to step aside as his mother’s guardian. She died in August at age 105.
Astor was the widow of Vincent Astor, a great-great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, who made a fortune in fur trading and New York real estate.