Like the guy who kills his parents and then begs for leniency because he’s an orphan, Brooke Astor’s swindling son will try to dodge a mandatory year in prison by asking this week that the judge toss the top conviction against him — in consideration of his good deeds “managing” her finances.
According to two sources close to the case, Anthony Marshall will file a motion asking the trial judge to dismiss the first-degree grand-larceny charge — the sole charge carrying a mandatory jail sentence — in hopes of staying out of prison entirely.
The papers will ask Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Kirke Bartley to show mercy in considering Marshall’s conviction for awarding himself a $1.4 million retroactive pay increase out of Astor’s funds. The reason? His fine work in handling her accounts.
Prosecutors called that essentially hiking his salary for doing such a good job of stealing from her.
The other charges Marshall was convicted of last month — after a nearly six-month trial — do not carry mandatory jail sentences. That includes his conviction for conspiring to swindle the Alzheimer’s-afflicted Astor out of more than $60 million in bequests long promised to city charities.
Bartley will be asked to consider the following factors in dismissing the top grand-larceny charge prior to rendering a sentence on Dec. 21:
* Marshall’s age and health. He’s 85, walks with a cane and has a pacemaker. Since his 2007 indictment, he has undergone open-heart surgery, had a mini-stroke and suffered a slight concussion after falling during a dizzy spell.
* Marshall’s public service. He earned a Purple Heart leading a Marine unit at Iwo Jima and served as an ambassador to Kenya, Madagascar and Trinidad.
* The jury’s reported difficulty in convicting on the charge. Jurors told reporters that there was initially an 8-to-4 majority in favor of acquitting, based on Marshall’s long history of granting himself raises from his mother’s funds — albeit considerably smaller raises than $1.4 million.
One name that won’t be on the motion papers will be that of former lead attorney Frederick Hafetz, who has formally asked the judge to be released from the case, with Marshall’s agreement.
“Mr. Marshall will be proceeding for the rest of the case with Ken Warner and John Cuti,” Hafetz said, referring to his former co-counsels.
“I wish them well,” he added, declining to comment further.
One source sniped that Warner and Cuti had been gunning to get Hafetz off the case since midway through the trial.
Marshall still owes Hafetz $3.6 million in legal fees, according to court papers. He owes Warner’s firm $2.6 million and his civil lawyers another $1.5 million.