A New York judge has ordered immediate improvements in the life of 104-year-old millionaire dowager Brooke Astor, and cut off her son from his $2.3 million salary after allegations he kept her in squalid, abusive conditions, newly unsealed court documents show.
The ruling came in the public battle over the care of Astor, the grand dame of New York philanthropy who was said to be a victim of elder abuse at her son’s hands, being forced to live in tatters after a life of luxury.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice John Stackhouse ordered JPMorgan Chase Bank to pay the salaries of all staff who work for Brooke Astor except for her son, Anthony Marshall, and any member of her immediate family, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.
That means Astor’s only child will no longer be able to pay himself with his mother’s money for his mother’s care.
Astor has been at the center of the dispute among the heirs of John Jacob Astor, who made a fortune in the New York fur trade and real estate two centuries ago.
Her grandson Phillip Marshall has accused his father, the producer Anthony Marshall, of cutting back on everything related to his grandmother’s care from doctor visits to the brand of makeup she used.
The grandson also claimed in court papers that his father had ordered the household help to purchase cheaper versions of medicines, made her sleep in torn nightgowns, wouldn’t buy her a new outfit for her 104th birthday and wouldn’t pay for a beautician or make necessary repairs to her Park Avenue apartment.
Anthony Marshall has denied all of the allegations and says he has never mistreated his mother.
The judge appointed Astor’s close friend, Annette de la Renta, the wife of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, as her “personal needs guardian,” and he directed the JPMorgan Chase bank to handle her finances.
The judge also ordered the hiring of a new cook to make sure Astor has “a healthy, varied and tasty diet.”
Astor’s grandson claimed that his grandmother was being forced to eat “oatmeal and puréed carrots, puréed oats and puréed liver, Monday through Friday, for months on end.”
The judge also ordered that Astor be allowed to regularly see her two dogs, Boysie and Girlsie. According to Astor’s grandson, she has not seen her beloved dogs for months.
Soon after the Astor case was publicly aired in July, de la Renta moved Astor to an estate in upstate New York.
