New York socialite Brooke Astor acknowledged motherhood wasn't her strong suit, friends said. She shipped off her only son, Anthony Marshall, to boarding school at an early age.
Then again, there's evidence Marshall grew up to be a less than a dutiful son. In 2006, Marshall's son, Philip, filed a lawsuit demanding his father be removed as guardian of Grandma Astor, who was 104. The grandson claimed his father was denying Astor, who gave away a reported $200 million during her life, decent food, a warm place to sleep, even visits from her beloved dogs.
JPMorgan Chase Bank was brought in to look at Astor's finances, and in court documents alleged Astor's son may have wrongfully taken millions from his mother's estate.
Astor died in 2007, but the Manhattan District Attorney's office investigated and indicted Marshall for what one prosecutor called "grand theft Astor." In 2009, after a five-month trial, Marshall was convicted in Manhattan Supreme Court of siphoning millions from his mother as she lay dying.
At the age of 85, he was sentenced to three years in prison. He remains free pending appeal.