NYC trial over socialite Astor's will nears end

[September 14, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A tortuous trial that revealed the elegant philanthropist Brooke Astor as a deluded invalid struggling with Alzheimer's disease is nearing an end after more than four months of testimony.

Astor's 85-year-old son, Anthony Marshall, and his lawyer are accused of exploiting the socialite's declining mental condition to plunder millions of dollars from her estate. Closing arguments are set to begin Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The trial featured 74 witnesses -- 72 called by the prosecution, including celebrities like Barbara Walters and Henry Kissinger. There were also handwriting experts with conflicting theories over whether Astor's signature was forged.

The philanthropist's last will, created Jan. 30, 2002, left millions of dollars to her favorite charities, but three later amendments gave Marshall most of her estimated $198 million estate.

Prosecution witnesses said Astor, who was 105 and suffering from Alzheimer's when she died in 2007, was not competent to amend her will. An 18-count indictment charged that Marshall and his trusts and estates lawyer, Francis Morrissey, took advantage of Astor's decline to defraud her and her chosen charities.

Some advocates for the elderly watched the trial closely because they say financial abuse of older people is a growing concern.

"It's critical that the case went forward," said Bob Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition. "It has done a lot to raise public awareness about the problem of elder financial abuse."

Marshall, charged with grand larceny, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Morrissey, 67, is charged with forgery and faces up to seven years.

The trial before Justice A. Kirke Bartley Jr. started April 27 and at first created a buzz because of the celebrity testimony and the window it opened into New York's high society.

Kissinger testified that when he greeted Astor at her 100th birthday party in 2002 she did not recognize him, though they had been close friends for more than 25 years.

Defense lawyers have said Astor was merely forgetful, and that she was competent when she amended her will in late 2003 and early 2004.

The case was originally expected to take about 10 weeks but has gone on much longer, as one prosecution witness after another testified about Astor's fading mental capacity.

Marshall's attorneys called no defense witnesses, and Morrissey's lawyer Thomas Puccio called just two -- handwriting experts who argued that Astor's signature on the third codicil to her will was not forged.

"The defense thought it sufficient to rest on the infirmities of the prosecution's case," said defense lawyer Gerald Shargel, who is not involved in the case.

The scope of the district attorney's case reflects the heavy burden of proof in a criminal case. Prosecutors must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But some observers say the prosecutors may have risked alienating the jury by calling so many witnesses.

"It seems that the case was overtried, but we'll know shortly," Shargel said.

In any case, the jurors have appeared to be attentive, rarely drifting off even during highly technical testimony.

Astor's third husband, Vincent Astor, was the son of multimillionaire John Jacob Astor IV. She took charge of her husband's philanthropic work after his death in 1959 and won acclaim for her devotion to causes like the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A darker side of Astor's legacy emerged in 2006 when one of her grandsons, Philip Marshall, asked a court to remove his father from handling her affairs.

Philip Marshall accused his father of abusing his grandmother by letting her live in squalor in her Park Avenue duplex while he looted her fortune. The accusation led to the filing of criminal charges against Anthony Marshall and Morrissey.

[Associated Press; By KAREN MATTHEWS]

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