The New York Daily News has reported today that renowned philanthropist Brooke Astor, the socialite who was photographed dancing at her 95th birthday celebration, is a victim of elder abuse, and now wears torn nightgowns and sleeps on a filthy couch.
The court papers, filed last week, seek to remove son Anthony Marshall from his position as legal guardian of his 104-year-old mother, who gave nearly $200 million to city causes over decades at the helm of the Astor Foundation, the Daily News reported. All this generosity while her son allegedly withholds money and proper medical care to his helpless mother.
The Daily News charges that Astor's “82-year-old son has cut off her access to expensive medications and refused to get her a bed with rails even though she has fallen from her bed. He has reduced her doctors' visits and has ordered her staff not to take her to an emergency room or call 911 without contacting him first, the papers claim.”
Reached by the Daily News, Anthony Marshall said he did not wish to comment, adding: "You said it is shocking and I agree. I don't think I should comment. It is a matter that is going to be coming up in a court of law and it should be left to the court."
Guardianship of Astor has been requested to be transferred to Annette de la Renta, wife of designer Oscar de la Renta, and JP Morgan Chase Bank.
Grandson to Brooke Astor, Philip Marshall went on record against his father in an affidavit. "Her bedroom is so cold in the winter that my grandmother is forced to sleep in the TV room in torn nightgowns on a filthy couch that smells, probably from dog urine."
According to the Daily News, “Astor became known for her personal involvement in her causes; she insisted on visiting each charity and program to which she contributed, up until she closed the foundation in 1997. A year later, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by then-President Bill Clinton.
She took over the Astor Foundation in 1959, after the death of her third husband, Vincent Astor. He was the great-great-grandson of family patriarch John Jacob Astor, who made a 19th century fortune in Manhattan real estate, becoming the wealthiest man in America by 1840.”
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