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Brooke Astor's Son Anthony Marshall Sentenced to 1 to 3 Years in Prison

By Michael P. Ventura | December 21, 2009 1:04pm | Updated on December 21, 2009 3:08pm
Anthony Marshall enters Manhattan Supreme Court to be sentenced.
Anthony Marshall enters Manhattan Supreme Court to be sentenced.
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Shayna Jacobs / DNAinfo

MANHATTAN — Brooke Astor's son Anthony Marshall has been sentenced to one to three years in prison for defrauding his mother's estate.

Marshall will be home for Christmas, as he's required to surrender on Jan. 19. Prosecutors recommended the 85-year-old, who's health has been ailing in recent months, get 1 1/2 and 4 1/2 years in prison at his sentencing hearing on Monday.

"Putting this man in the harsh confines of a state prison I fear will be lethal," John Cuti, Marshall's attorney, argued.

"The city and state departments of corrections simply aren't equipped to provide the proper kind of medical care that a man in Mr. Marshall's condition needs."

Cuti said Marshall had heart bypass surgery "a little over a year ago" and had recently been diagnosed with "what appears to be" Parkinson's Disease.

"I have nothing to add to what my attorneys have said and I agree," Marshall said, speaking softly into a courtroom microphone.

Prosecutors said Marshall's economic and social standing shouldn't exempt him from hard time.

"Can you, at age 81, steal millions that were earmarked for charity and then at age 85 claim that you are too old to serve jail time?" asked Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann.

"He didn't steal from his mother to give to the Coalition for the Homeless. On the contrary--he stole money that was earmarked for charity."

Earlier, Marshall's car pulled into the only snow-cleared spot on the side of the court house and then he and his wife, Charlene, and his lawyer walked slowly up the handicapped ramp as a throng of photographers and TV crews mobbed him.

Marshall was convicted of stealing millions from his socialite Brooke Astor's fortune as her health deteriorated because of advanced Alzheimer's disease. Prosecutors said he took control of her nearly $200 million estate against her wishes.

Attorney Francis Morrissey, 66, is also up for sentencing. Morrissey was charged with executing a plot to fake Astor's signature on the last amendment to her will before her death in 2007.