Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Astor's Son Claims "Malicious Jihad" Against Him
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 23, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 23, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The only good thing about the battle over Brooke Astor's estate that is taking place in Westchester Surrogate Court is that Astor herself does not have to be privy to it. Her son Anthony Marshall accused custodians of the estate, Astor's friend Annette de La Renta and JP Morgan Chase, of a "malicious jihad." de la Renta and Chase were appointed to oversee the estate after there were some questions about whether Astor's will was improperly changed to Marshall's benefit, but now Marshall wants a new and impartial guardian.
According to the Daily News, Marshall accuses Chase of "criminality" in questioning his tax payments and a $5 million gift from his mother, to which Chase responded, "We took appropriate steps under the law. That's not because we hate Anthony Marshall." And the Post reports he claims de la Renta refused to let him see his mother shortly before her death.
Most heartless and hostile was Ms. de la Renta's refusal to allow Charlene to see my mother with me on the Saturday night before her death on Monday, when we thought she was going to die and she was given the last rites. When I asked her personally that night to allow Charlene and me some final moments with my mother... she emphatically refused
Of course, Marshall buried Astor secretly, so it's tit for tat, no?
Marshall also questions de la Renta's motives, because she had previosly said Astor has been mentally unfit to understand more recent changes to the will, yet she was given a number of pieces of jewelry; Marshall's filing said, "It is apparently Ms. de la Renta's contention that... Mrs. Astor recovered for enough time to make this gift to her." de la Renta's lawyer said his client's "only interest is to see to it as much as she is able that her dear friend Mrs.Astor's true wishes are carried out."
Photographs of Anthony and Charlene Marshall, and Oscar de la Renta, Annette de la Renta, and David Rockefeller by Louis Lanzano/AP
Tagged
Anthony Marshall
Brooke Astor
court
daily news
david
David Rockefeller
death
jp morgan
jp morgan chase
law
Louis Lanzano
news
News: NYC
When I
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .