New York Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
Anthony Marshall, the 85 year old son of the late philanthropist Brooke Astor, was sentenced on December 21st to 1-3 years in jail for looting his mother’s fortune. Mr. Marshall was convicted last October of first degree grand larceny, and scheming to defraud, along with twelve other counts, based on charges that he took advantage of his mother’s mental frailty to get more than his share of her almost 200 million dollar fortune. Grand larceny in the first degree under section 155.42 of the New York Penal Law is defined as stealing the property of another which has a value in excess of one million dollars. It is a class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
Prosecutors utilized testimony from high profile witnesses and friends of Ms. Astor including Barbara Walters and Henry Kissinger to establish that Marshall had manipulated his mother to change her will and had stolen priceless artwork from her walls. The defense contended that Marshall had an unrestricted complete power of attorney permitting his actions, and argued that Astor was mentally competent when she made the changes to her will. Apparently, the Manhattan jury did not accept those arguments.
Marshall got the minimum allowable sentence under sentencing guidelines. He was unsuccessful in trying to get the judge to drop the part of his conviction which required jail time, despite his lawyers’ arguments that any jail time would amount to a death sentence due to his poor health.
Contact the Westchester County Criminal Defense Lawyers at the White Plains, New York Law Office of Mark A. Siesel online or toll free at (914) 428-7386 if you or a loved one is charged with a crime, or a traffic infraction, for a free consultation with an experienced attorney to discuss your legal rights and options.