Jury Says Tony Robbed From the Rich…His Mom
Somewhere, King Lear is nodding his head and muttering "yup, been there."
Anthony "Tony" Marshall, 85, a former Marine and veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima who last year found himself cast as the Goneril of the gilded set, was convicted Thursday of stealing from his mother, philanthropist Brooke Astor.
His conviction on 14 counts, including grand larceny, means Marshall faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on December 8.
Two of the original 16 charges were dismissed.
His co-defendant – who was also Mrs. Astor's estate attorney — Francis X. Morrissey Jr., was convicted of two counts of forgery.
The verdict, reached after 12 days of deliberation, came after a nearly five-month trial that included testimony from Social Register witnesses who provided a peek at the daily privileges of the exceedingly rich.
Mrs. Astor, a military brat whose father was the Commandant of the US Marine Corps in the mid-1930s, suffered from Alzheimer's disease at the time of her death two years ago, at age 105.
Prosecutors accused Marshall of exploiting his mother's illness to redirect million of dollars originally intended for charity to himself. At the time of her death, Mrs. Astor was worth more than $180 million.
Justice J. Kirk Bartley Jr. refused the prosecution's request to increase Marshall's $100,000 bail to $5 million while he awaits sentencing.
Author Sara E. SkinnerPosted on October 8, 2009 Categories Uncategorized
Avast, Ye Swindled! Bernie's Boats For Sale
Fort Lauderdale's National Liquidators Inc. will find out next month, when Bernie Madoff's three boats are auctioned by order of the U.S. Marshal's Service.
The sale of seven boats on Nov. 17 includes Madoff's bullish troika — a 55-foot Rybovich named Bull; a 38-foot Shelter Island runabout called Sitting Bull, and Little Bull, a 24-foot center-console — as well as four other vessels not related to the Madoff judgment.
Considering the scope of Madoff's deception, we have to wonder why the floaters aren't named Load Of Bull, Nothing But Bull, and Bull#@*!.
Madoff, puppetmaster of a $65 billion Ponzi scheme that crashed in December and took the fortunes of many Palm Beachers with it, is serving 150 years in a federal correctional center and won't be feeling the ocean breeze ruffling his grey locks anytime soon.
Proceeds from the sale of the vessels will be used to compensate Madoff's victims.
But the economic climate isn't exactly favoring sale prices with lots of zeros, provenance be damned.
"Doesn't matter who owned them," said Bill Sanderson of Camper & Nicholson yacht brokerage in Palm Beach. "You can't give away his kind of boats. It's like his house. It's a teardown."
"In this economy, the yacht market is the worst hit," he continued. "Real estate is somewhere behind it, and airplanes are right there in between."
Said Sanderson "They'll be lucky to get 20 cents on the dollar."
But don't tote the change jar down to the auction and expect to come home towing a bull. Buyers must register and pass a vetting process to ensure they can pony up a $100,00 deposit.
For more details on the auction, visit yachtauctions.com/madoff.