Astor’s son is charged with looting her estate

The son of the late philanthropist and Manhattan socialite Brooke Astor was charged Tuesday with taking advantage of her diminished mental state to swindle her estate out of millions of dollars.

Anthony D. Marshall, a former diplomat and a Tony Award-winning producer, faces multiple charges, including falsifying records, scheming to defraud and grand larceny. If convicted, Marshall, 83, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

“As her financial advisor and her attorney, he was supposed to always act in her interest, and it was clear that he was not acting in her interest,” Dist. Atty. Robert M. Morgenthau said at a news conference. Astor had Alzheimer’s disease.

Former Marshall attorney Francis X. Morrissey Jr. has been charged with participating in forging Astor’s signature in a codicil to her will.

Marshall surrendered to a Manhattan court Tuesday; Morrissey was out of town and is expected to be arraigned later in the week.

Marshall’s current attorney, Kenneth E. Warner, said in a statement that his client “faithfully and effectively managed his mother’s affairs for more than 25 years, increasing the value of her investments from $19 million to $82 million. Brooke Astor loved Tony, her only child, and whatever he received was in accordance with her wishes.”

The indictment alleges that Marshall and Morrissey conspired to have Astor sign a revised will leaving most of her $198-million fortune to her son. It also alleges that Astor’s signature elsewhere on that will was forged to transfer money from some of her favorite charities into Marshall’s control.

According to the indictment, Marshall persuaded Astor to sell one of her beloved paintings -- “Up the Avenue From Thirty-Fourth Street, May 1917,” by Childe Hassam -- by falsely telling her that she was running out of money. Instead of auctioning off the painting, the indictment alleges, Marshall sold it through a private gallery for $10 million, pocketing $2 million for himself.

Astor, 105, died in August of pneumonia. A prominent figure in Manhattan high society, she donated nearly $200 million to city institutions, including the New York Public Library, Central Park, Carnegie Hall, the Bronx Zoo, the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as to causes such as homelessness and education.

Astor’s final years were marred by tabloid reports in 2006 about allegations that she had been denied medical care and that in winter her bedroom -- in a dilapidated Park Avenue residence -- was so cold she slept on a couch reeking of urine. Philip Marshall, 54, accused his father, Anthony Marshall, of mistreating her and trying to steal from her, prompting a criminal investigation.

In July 2006, a Manhattan judge removed Anthony Marshall as Astor’s legal caretaker. Annette de la Renta, wife of the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, replaced him.

In December, a judge said claims of elder abuse were unsubstantiated.

After Astor died, De la Renta and JPMorgan Chase bank filed court papers suggesting that her will was not legitimate and accusing Marshall of misusing $18 million of her fortune.

“Just as the original claims of ‘elder abuse’ were found to have no basis,” Warner said in his statement, “we’re confident that once all the facts are known, Mr. Marshall will be exonerated.”

erika.hayasaki@latimes.com