New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
Convicted of Grand Larceny in the First Degree in Manhattan Supreme Court, a New York trial jury has sealed Anthony Marshall’s fate. Prosecutors called over seventy witness during the course of the trial that addressed whether or not Marshall was involved in forging Brooke Astor’s signature and stealing her fortunate as she suffered from dementia and lived in squalor. In the end, the jury found that Marshall had bilked his own mother out of millions of dollars.
Unfortunately for Marshall, a conviction for Grand Larceny in the First Degree is an enormous defeat especially for an 85 year old man. By law, the minimum sentence he faces will be 1 to 3 years in state prison while the maximum Marshall could face is 8 and 1/3 to 25 years. If Marshall had been acquitted of this charge and “merely” convicted of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and other crimes on the indictment, he would have not faced mandatory prison. While we certainly can only speculate what a judge might sentence and individual to, by law Marshall could have gotten nothing more than a conditional discharge or even no probation and up to 1 and 1/3 to 4, 2 and 1/3 to 7 or 5 to 15 depending if he were convicted of the “E,” “D,” or “C” felonies respectively. Compounding an already ugly case, Marshall still faces a pending civil case.
After 12 days of trial and a potential mistrial waiting in the wings, the case serves as a stark reminder to all New Yorkers. Regardless of your wealth or connections, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will prosecute crimes in the “streets” and in the “suites,” pursue offenders in all social circles and fight to trial if necessary.