Astor Trial Opens With a Bang

Scandalous details out of the first day of the Astor trial: Anthony Marshall, accused of scamming his Alzheimer’s-stricken mother, society doyenne Brooke Astor, out of millions while she was on her death bed, “literally pulled Ms. Astor out of the arms of her nurse,” according to prosecutors, in order to funnel $50 million of her fortune to his own bank account. Astor died in 2005 at the age of 105, leaving her son, 84, $40 million in property and a $60 million trust fund. Marshall allegedly convinced his confused mother that he needed to sell two of her paintings because she was running out of money. Things are going to get even juicier—60 witnesses are slated to testify in the trial, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Barbara Walters.