Inside the Astor Verdict
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
Brooke Astor's son and his lawyer have been handed a guilty verdict, but Ralph Gardner Jr. still can't crack the trial's central mystery: What made them think they'd get away with defrauding a New York social icon?
The Astor Trial's Final Days
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
As closing arguments get under way, the attorneys in the epic trial fire their parting shots, and try to weave four months of testimony into a narrative for the exhausted jury.
The Nurse Who Saw It All
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
Could Pearline Noble, who dubbed the Marshalls "Miss Piggy" and "the golden retriever," help get Brooke Astor's son Anthony off the hook by painting his wife as a villain?
What the Butler Saw
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
There are no secrets from the servants. After weeks of celebrity witnesses, Brooke Astor's maid and butler take the stand. Ralph Gardner Jr. reports.
Had Brooke Astor Lost It?
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
That was the question at the Astor trial, as the longtime lawyer for New York society's grande dame was hit hard both by prosecutors and attorneys for the son who seized control of her estate.
The Astor Circus
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
Barbara Walters, Graydon Carter, and Henry Kissinger joined the chorus of witnesses at the Brooke Astor trial who say the society doyenne lost her marbles before she changed her will.
The A-List Witness List
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
How can the defense in the Brooke Astor trial possibly call witnesses as charming and believable as socialites Louis Auchincloss, Annette de la Renta, and Nancy Kissinger?
The Evil Daughter-in-Law?
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
Without changing a word of his mother's will, Brooke Astor's son, Tony Marshall, stood to inherit millions. Did his third wife, Charlene, drive him to want it all?
The Defense's Risky Senility Theory
Ralph Gardner, Jr. is freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Observer, the New Yorker and other publications.
The latest chapter of the Brooke Astor trial involves art-world secrets, a despised daughter-in-law-and new questions about a $20,000 Qing dynasty vase.
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, is a professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
Jeffrey Koterba is an acclaimed syndicated political cartoonist. Since joining the Omaha World-Herald in 1989, he has been a finalist for Editorial Cartoonist of the Year from the National Cartoonists Society and has placed second in the National Headliner Awards. His work is distributed through King Features Syndicate to 400 newspapers nationwide, and has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Washington Post, among others.
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