Son of Brooke Astor, convicted of swindling her as she aged, is dead

[December 02, 2014]  By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anthony Marshall, convicted of swindling millions of dollars from his philanthropist mother, Brooke Astor, has died, according to his attorney and a paid obituary on Monday in the New York Times. He was 90.

Marshall died early on Sunday morning at New York Presbyterian Hospital, according to his attorney Kenneth Warner. The death notice, placed in the newspaper by his wife, Charlene, did not specify when or where or how Marshall died.

Last year, when Marshall was seeking an early medical release from prison, his attorneys said he suffered from Parkinson's disease and was unable to walk or feed himself.

Marshall was released from prison in August 2013, just eight weeks into his sentence of one to three years for grand larceny and 13 other charges.

He was convicted of taking advantage of his mother's deteriorating mental state and stealing millions of dollars from her in the years before she died at the age of 105 in 2007.

Astor was the widow of Vincent Astor, heir to the fur and real estate fortune of John Jacob Astor. She was a well-known philanthropist who served as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The obituary said that "a very great man has died today" and mentioned by name only Marshall's stepchildren and step-grandchildren. It made no mention of his conviction.

The notice also did not name his son Philip, who in 2006 filed a guardianship petition accusing his father of neglecting Astor and forcing her to live in squalid conditions. Neither did it mention his son Alexander who testified against him at his trial.

The obituary said Marshall was a U.S. Marine who earned a Purple Heart at Iwo Jima, worked for the CIA and was U.S. ambassador to Madagascar, the Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago and Kenya.

"Anthony Marshall died peacefully early Sunday morning knowing he was deeply loved by his wife, Charlene, and by many others," his attorney said in a statement. "In the end I hope he is remembered for his decency, his valor, and for his many accomplishments, not for the injustices he suffered."

(Editing by Peter Cooney and Eric Walsh)

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