The trial of Brooke Astor's son Anthony Marshall is a glimpse into high society. Well, a glimpse of high society amid accusations of elder abuse, swindling money from a senile woman, and more. The Post reports that one of the the prosecution's exhibits is "a remarkably detailed scale model of Brooke Astor's 16th-floor apartment overlooking Park Avenue at 72nd Street." The model's rooms appear to emulate the actual decoration of Astor's co-op, which is on the market for $29 million, including parquet-type floors and wallpaper. The Post adds, "You can almost smell the dog urine on the infamous Blue Room couch."
Of course, that's a reference to how Astor was allegedly left in bad conditions by Marshall, who refused (again, allegedly) proper care for his millionaire philanthropist mother. Two prosecution witnesses testified yesterday, saying that Marshall intimidated his mother into thinking she was poor. Linda Gillies, who ran the Vincent Astor Foundation, said, "I've bought a lot of pairs of shoes, and Tony isn't going to approve.' She said, 'Tony says I can't afford it.'"
A member of the British Astors, Lord William Astor recalled, "She said she was staying at the Connaught Hotel and that she shouldn't be staying there because 'it was very expensive and Tony was always saying I'm spending too much money and I'm low on cash.'... I was concerned and made inquiries with a friend at Citibank. I was entirely satisfied that this wasn't the case." The NY Times explains that William Astor is "the fourth member of the family with that name and a direct descendant of John Jacob Astor," and his accent was "so thick a prosecutor had to ask him to slow down several times."
