Brooke Astor would have bowed her elegantly hatted head in sorrow at yesterday’s verdict, say some of her closest friends.
“She would feel sad for this,” said Vartan Gregorian, who headed the New York Public Library when Astor was one of its biggest benefactors.
“This trial will go down in the history of New York as one of the greatest examples of avarice and great ingratitude.
“The only good thing is that Mrs. Astor may have played another role in New York — putting a face to elder abuse.”
Broadway and film producer John Hart, another longtime Astor friend, agreed.
“It would be painful for her because it was so public, and because it was her son, who she honestly loved,” he said.
Still, “The outcome reflected her wishes [in terms of her will,]” Hart noted.
As to Marshall, “He got greedy,” the producer said.