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Anthony Marshall, son of Brooke Astor, is out on $500,000 bond pending appeal.
Still guilty! A judge dismissed allegations Thursday that a juror was threatened into convicting Brooke Astor's elderly son of fleecing her - and refused to toss Anthony Marshall's guilty verdict. Supreme Court Justice Kirke Bartley chalked up hold-out juror Judith DeMarco's revelation that she felt pressure during deliberations when a fellow juror on the blockbuster case screamed at her to a "spirited dispute." "Ms. DeMarco's claims concerning Ms. (Yvonne) Fernandez's behavior, which according the eleven other jurors were exaggerated, are indicative only of a 'spirited dispute' which was promptly resolved," Bartley wrote in a 22-page decision. The ruling does not mean that Marshall is headed to prison - he's still out on $500,000 bond pending further appeal. He faces at least a year behind bars if the appeals fail. "We're reviewing the decision and plan to appeal," said Marshall's lawyer, John Cuti. Marshall, 86, and his co-defendant, Francis Morrissey, filed papers in February seeking to vacate the October 2009 verdict after their investigator spoke to DeMarco. The defense said DeMarco had been threatened and intimidated by Fernandez and felt "terrible," "ashamed" and "emotionally devastated" after voting to convict. Other jurors said DeMarco was wrong. "It may have happened in somebody's mind but it didn't actually happen in the jury room," Larry Kaagan, one juror, said of DeMarco's claims that Fernandez threatened her and flashed gang symbols at her. DeMarco did not immediately return calls for comment. Fernandez's lawyer, Ron Kuby, said he was glad his client was vindicated. The now-debunked misconduct claims did not apply to Morrissey because jurors stated they'd already voted to convict the now-disbarred lawyer when the drama erupted in the jury room. Morrissey, 67, was convicted of helping Marshall, 86, loot his famouse philanthropist mother's $185 million fortune. Astor died at age 105 in 2007.
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