Despite conviction, jail sentence, Astor son still seeking estate assets

With Brooke Astor’s son Anthony Marshall sentenced, big-bucks battle of the wills about to resume
Jose Martinez/Corky Siemaszko
December 22, 2009
New York Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/12/21/2009-12-21_bigbucks_battle_of_the_wills_about_to_resume.html
Now that Brooke Astor’s son is bound for prison, the fight for her millions begins again.

Convicted swindler Anthony Marshall had been trying to convince Westchester County’s Surrogate’s Court to approve a revised 2002 will that gave him control over the bulk of Astor’s $185 million fortune.

Marshall’s son Philip and Astor’s close friend Annette de la Renta are pushing a civil case to have the courts recognize the socialite’s 1997 will, which set aside $66 million for charity. That case was put on hold while Manhattan prosecutors pursued criminal charges against Marshall.

Asked if Marshall’s sentencing to up to three years in prison improves their chances, de la Renta’s lawyer Paul Saunders said Monday, “I’m not going to comment on any part of this.”

In an earlier interview, done the day Marshall was convicted, Saunders said the jury’s verdict was key to their case.

“The issue in Surrogate’s Court is very similar … was Mrs. Astor competent when she signed the wills and codicils? A jury in New York clearly said no, and that is significant.”

Astor, who died two years ago at age 105, was a big backer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library.

Both institutions stand to lose millions they believe Astor intended to give them if the court accepts what prosecutors say is a doctored will.

Either way, another source familiar with the case said, Marshall’s wife, Charlene, is likely to end up being a rich widow if her 85-year-old husband passes away behind bars.

“She just won’t get as much,” the source said.