Brooke Astor Trial: Juror Complains Of Feeling Threatened
NEW YORK — A jury trying to decide whether Brooke Astor's son and lawyer looted the socialite's estate resumed its deliberation Tuesday, one day after a juror complained she felt threatened during heated discussions.
Judge A. Kirke Bartley unsealed a note jurors had sent Monday that said a member of the panel felt "personally threatened" by another juror's comments and, "with regards to her personal safety, she wishes to be dismissed."
The note did not identify the jurors, all of whom returned Tuesday. One of the jury's eight women had appeared tearful in the courtroom Monday as Bartley said to keep deliberating despite the request.
The defense on Tuesday asked for a mistrial in light of the jury tensions.
"Any defendant has a right to be judged by a jury that is dispassionate, objective, and fair," lawyer John Cuti wrote in a letter to Bartley. "If a conscientious member of a jury is so intimidated by the conduct of her peers in the jury room that the she fears for her own physical safety, it is asking too much for that juror to remain true to her oath to decide the case based on her honestly held views."
Bartley denied the request but instructed the jurors that they are not required to reach a verdict.
Astor was suffering from Alzheimer's when she died in 2007 at 105. Her son, Anthony Marshall, and estate lawyer Francis Morrissey are charged with looting her nearly $200 million fortune.
Prosecutors say Marshall stole from his disoriented mother during her life, and he and Morrissey induced her to change her will to leave her son millions of dollars long destined for charity.
Defense lawyers say Marshall had legal authority to give himself gifts with his mother's money, and she knew what she was doing when she changed her will.
Jurors on Tuesday appeared to be continuing to chip away at the complex case. They sent the court a raft of detailed questions concerning Astor's tax records and Marshall's salary and power-of-attorney arrangement for managing her financial affairs.
They went home for the night with no further signs of animosity. Deliberations were to resume Wednesday.
Marshall, 85, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted; Morrissey, 66, faces up to seven years.
Astor was known for decades as the grande dame of New York society and gave millions to institutions such as the New York Public Library, Carnegie Hall and other causes.
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JENNIFER PELTZ | 10/ 6/09 06:00 PM |