Brooke Astor's Son Convicted of Swindling Multimillionaire Mother Headed to Prison
Anthony Marshall convicted of siphoning mother's millions in her final years.
June 21, 2013— -- The 89-year-old son of Brooke Astor is headed to prison, following years of trying to appeal his conviction of swindling his late mother out of millions as she suffered from Alzheimer's in her final years.
Confined to a wheelchair, Anthony Marshall, 89, appeared in a Manhattan courtroom today with his wife, Charlene, by his side, where a judge ordered him to start serving his one-to three-year prison sentence.
"I take no pleasure in following my duties," Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice A. Kirke Bartley told Marshall in court today, according to The Associated Press.
Brooke Astor was a New York socialite, writer and respected philanthropist who died in August 2007 at the age of 105.
Prosecutors said Marshall, a former Broadway producer and diplomat, had exploited his mother's deteriorating mental state after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease to pilfer expensive artwork off her walls, go on a spending spree with her money and make changes to her will that gave him control of her fortune, some of which Astor had wanted to bequeath to her favorite charities, according to prosecutors.
Marshall showed little reaction during court proceedings today and declined to speak.
While the octogenarian will be trading in his Manhattan residence for prison, it was not immediately known where Marshall would be housed, Tom Mailey, spokesman for the New York State Department of Corrections, told ABCNews.com.
"Because of his age and reported illnesses, we will have medical staff evaluate him," Mailey said. "Based on that evaluation, we'll figure out the best place for him."
Mailey said corrections officials have a number of options, including a shared cell, an infirmary bed in a medical facility or a regional medical unit, which Mailey said is comparable to a nursing home in terms of the care inmates receive.
Despite his advanced age, Marshall will become the fourth-oldest inmate in New York's prison system, according to data provided by Mailey.
At 93 years and seven months old, John Bunz, who was convicted of manslaughter, is the oldest inmate in the state, Mailey said.
The nonagenarian, who began serving his sentence in 2010, is housed at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y., and is scheduled to be released March 14, 2025, at the earliest, according to online records.
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