Miss Piggy’s Whine
Astor’s Broken Hip Ruined Her Trip:  Maid
David K. Li
July 17, 2009
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07172009/news/regionalnews/miss_piggys_whine_179729.htm
Brooke Astor’s daughter-in-law cruelly scolded the socialite for wrecking her vacation as the 101-year-old lay writhing in pain after breaking her hip, Astor’s ex-housekeeper told jurors yesterday.

In some of the most damning testimony yet in the swindle trial of Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, housekeeper Angela Moore vividly testified that Marshall’s wife, Charlene, dressed down her ailing mother-in-law at New York Hospital in June 2003.

“Mrs. Marshall came over to the bed and said, ‘We had to cancel our trip to London, all because of you!’ ” Moore told rapt Manhattan Supreme Court jurors.

“She [Astor] didn’t say anything. She looked over to me and moved her head side to side.”

Marshall, 85, and his co-defendant, estates lawyer Francis Morrissey, 66, are charged with defrauding Astor by forcing the Alzheimer’s-stricken philanthropist to change her will in 2003 and 2004.

Prosecutors claimed Marshall looted his mom’s estate of millions of dollars at the urging of Charlene — whom Astor’s nurse referred to as “Miss Piggy.”

Defense lawyers lost a bitter fight, outside the presence of jurors, to keep Moore off the witness stand to describe the day Astor broke her hip.

Moore lashed out at Marshall’s lawyer, Frederick Hafetz, when he suggested that either Charlene’s vacation remark was a joke or the housekeeper had misunderstood her.

“I know what I said, and I’m sticking to that!” the graying, petite Moore shot back in a thick Irish brogue.

Paul LeClerc, president and CEO of the New York Public Library, later testified for the prosecution and painted a pained, sad portrait of Astor’s mental decline.

LeClerc described a November 2003 visit to Astor’s Park Avenue home, when he brought her an animal picture book. He said that much like a little child, Astor would point to a photo and name the animal as he flipped pages.

“I don’t think she knew who I was,” said a downcast LeClerc, a pallbearer at Astor’s funeral in 2007 when she died at 105.

LeClerc also remembered his last visit at Astor’s home on March 31, 2004 — a meeting he said Anthony Marshall counseled against.

“He discouraged me from doing so. He said it wasn’t worth doing because she wouldn’t know who I was,” said LeClerc, adding that his visit with Astor lasted just 15 minutes. “It was a brief meeting because we really couldn’t talk to each other.”

LeClerc’s testimony wrapped up the trial’s 12th week. Judge Kirke Bartley told jurors he expected testimony to last until the third week of August, with closing arguments after Labor Day.

Brooke Astor was terrified of son Anthony Marshall and his lawyer, nurse testifies
Melissa Grace/Dave Goldiner
July 16, 2009
New York Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/07/16/2009-07-16_brooke_astor_was_terrified_of_son_anthony_marshall_and_his_lawyer.html
When Brooke Astor broke her hip, her daughter-in-law rushed to her hospital bedside - to complain about her ruined vacation.

“We had to cancel our trip to London, all because of you,” Charlene Marshall griped to the socialite, a maid testified Thursday.

Anthony Marshall sat next to his 101-year-old mother but didn’t say a word during the June 2003 incident, housekeeper Angela Moore recalled.

Astor also stayed silent, she said.

“She looked at me and shook her head from side to side,” Moore testified.

Marshall and lawyer Francis Morrissey are on trial on charges of looting Astor’s $180 million fortune.

The socialite died in 2007 at 105. The trial has focused on her declining mental faculties as she signed away her money.

Defense lawyers tried to keep Charlene Marshall’s catty comment out of court, calling it “ghoulish” and noting that she isn’t charged.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Loewy countered that the daughter-in-law was still in on the scam.

“Charlene is part of that scheme - she doesn’t need to be charged,” Loewy said.

Moore, 58, who started working for Astor in 2002, said the elderly woman never once remembered her first name.

Moore also said Astor was so afraid of her son and lawyer that she worried they were hiding in her bedroom hours after she signed crucial legal documents.

The aged grande dame ordered her to check in a closet and under the bed to make sure her son and Morrissey weren’t lurking.

“She didn’t want to go to bed,” Moore recalled. “She was afraid of the men in suits. … She was frightened.”

The bedtime drama came on Jan. 12, 2004, the same day Astor signed a key addition to her will giving Marshall $60 million.

Hours after inking the documents, the frail Astor seemed rattled, the maid said.

Moore turned on the lights in the closet to reassure her that Marshall and Morrissey were gone.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Moore comforted the old woman, she recalled.

Astor still wasn’t satisfied.

“There’s someone under the bed,” Astor exclaimed, prompting the maid to take Astor’s cane and wave it under the bed.

“The only man in the house is Boysie,” Moore replied, referring to Astor’s dog.

Moore also recalled Anthony and Charlene Marshall walking out of Astor’s Park Ave. apartment with $500,000 stuffed in a shopping bag.

They plucked the painting, John Frederick Lewis’ “Two Bedouins with a Camel,” from the wall as Astor snoozed.

Asked what was left, Moore said, “a nail.”

Witness:  Charlene Marshall Scolded Brooke Astor for Hip Fracture
David K. Li
July 16, 2009
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07162009/news/regionalnews/manhattan/charlene_marshall_scolded_astor_for_brea_179603.htm
Brooke Astor’s cold-hearted daughter-in-law cruelly scolded the dying socialite while as writhing in pain after breaking her hip, jurors heard today.

In some of the most damaging testimony yet in the swindle trial of Astor’s son Anthony Marshall, housekeeper Angela Moore vividly recalled how Marshall dressed down her 101-year-old mother-in-law in June, 2003 at New York Hospital.

“Mrs. Marshall came over to the bed and said `We had to cancel out trip to London, all because of you!’ ” Moore told rapt Manhattan Supreme Court jurors.

“She [Astor] didn’t say anything. She looked over to me and moved her head side to side.”

Marshall, 85, and his co-defendant and lawyer Francis Morrisey, 66, are charged with defrauding Astor by forcing the dying philanthropist to change her will in 2003 and 2004.

Prosecutors claimed Marshall looted his mom’s estate out of millions of dollars destined for charity, at the urging of Charlene Marshall — known as “Miss Piggy” to Astor’s nurse. The DA claims Astor would have never re-written her will to benefit her despised daughter-in-law.

Defense lawyers lost a bitter fight, outside the presence of jurors, to keep Moore out of the witness chair to describe the day Astor broke her hip.

Moore lashed out Marshall’s lawyer Frederick Hafetz when he suggested Charlene Marshall was either joking or the housekeeper misunderstood her.

“I know what I said and I’m sticking to that!” the graying, petite Moore shot back in her thick Irish brogue.

Paul LeClerc, president and CEO of the New York Public Library, also testified yesterday and painted a pained, sad portrait of Astor’s mental decline.

The Big Apple’s head bookworm described a November 2003 visit to Astor’s Park Avenue home, when he brought her an animal picture book. He said Astor would point to a photo and name the animal as he flipped pages.

“I don’t think she knew who I was,” said a downcast LeClerc, a pallbearer at Astor’s funeral in 2007 when she died at 105.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Loewy asked if they made animal sounds during the chat and the dour library head conceded: “Possibly.”

LeClerc also remembered his last visit at Astor’s home on March 31, 2004 — a meeting that Anthony Marshall apparently counseled against.

“He discouraged me from doing so. He said it wasn’t worth doing because she wouldn’t know who I was,” said LeClerc, adding that his visit with Astor lasted just 15 minutes. “It was a brief meeting because we really couldn’t talk to each other.”

Jarring Astor’s Memory
Jessica Simeone/David K. Li
July 16, 2009
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07162009/news/regionalnews/manhattan/jarring_astors_memory_179541.htm
Brooke Astor was so Alzheimer’s-addled after turning 100 that she often asked for a page of her own autobiography to be read out loud to her just to recall “names and faces,” jurors heard yesterday.

At the Manhattan Supreme Court trial of Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, nurse Pearline Noble said she read to the frail socialite, who could barely remember the most basic details of her life.

“She called it her favorite page — trying to recall her life to remember names and faces she cannot place,” Noble said, referring to Astor’s 1961 autobiography, “Patchwork Child.”

Noble, who cared for Astor from 2003 until her death at age 105 in 2007, did not specify the page or its content, but said it was early in the book. The nurse completed four days of testimony yesterday.

“When she pointed to the book, I read,” Noble recalled.

Prosecutors claim that Marshall, 85, and his co-defendant, estates lawyer Francis Morrissey, 66, forced Astor to change her will in 2003 and 2004, looting her estate out of millions of dollars destined for charity.

Later, long-time Astor pal Florence Irving testified that the socialite loathed daughter-in-law Charlene Marshall.

Irving, 89, said she recalled how angered Astor was after she gave jewelry to Charlene and never got a thank-you note.