NEW YORK – Anthony Marshall has had a life of privilege and pain as philanthropist Brooke Astor's only child.
Born into wealth, he joined the Marines after high school and was wounded in the battle of Iwo Jima. He later became an ambassador, author and Broadway producer before his life began to crumble when his own son accused him of mistreating the aged Astor and doyenne of New York society who married into one of the country's first ultra-rich families.
As he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison, the normally reserved Marshall is taking a surprisingly personal approach to stay free.
Convicted of looting the fortune his mother so generously shared, the ailing 85-year-old Marshall faces sentencing Monday on charges that carry a mandatory prison term of at least a year and as long as a quarter-century. His lawyers say any prison time could kill him.
Marshall could remain free on bail during an expected appeal, but he is trying first for a dismissal of the part of his October conviction that requires prison.
He now depicts himself in court papers as a boy who eagerly took the name of a stepfather who "wanted no part of me in his life," and as a man so frail he sometimes needs his wife's help to relieve himself. Marines, ministers and friends — including Whoopi Goldberg and Al Roker — portray him in letters to the court as a dedicated son and public-spirited man misconstrued as a symbol of patrician greed.
"People like Tony, who are the sons and daughters of the very wealthy, are often misunderstood and face unjustified harsh reaction based solely on who they are and how they are perceived," wrote Goldberg, a neighbor in Marshall's Manhattan apartment building. "Hasn't Tony been through enough?"
Prosecutors say Marshall is making a cynical, 11th-hour effort to dodge the consequences of his crime. They recently called him in court papers "nothing more than a 'thief in a three-piece suit.'"
Friend or foe aside, Marshall is abruptly baring a life he had largely kept private. He didn't testify or call even one witness at his five-month-long trial.
"Tony has always been the stiff-upper-lip Marine," said Meryl Gordon, author of "Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach," who has followed his trial. "So for him to take what he thinks that he has kind of hidden away, and not really acknowledged, as a bid for mercy is really astonishing."
Astor's third husband, Vincent Astor, was the great-great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, who made a fortune in fur trading and New York real estate and was among the country's first multimillionaires. She gave away nearly $200 million to institutions and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her generosity, the nation's highest civilian honor.
When she died in 2007 at age 105, she left a fortune worth nearly $200 million.
Her son's effort now to avoid prison faces significant burdens. He's relying on a state law that allows dismissals of legally substantiated charges "in furtherance of justice," a provision courts use sparingly.
Marshall says heart surgery, a digestive disease and other medical problems make him too sick to manage life behind bars — claims prosectuors and prison officials have rebuffed.
Marshall also argues that he doesn't deserve to go to prison for the nonviolent crime, offering his life as evidence.
In more than 70 letters to the court, some supporters note the military service that earned him a Purple Heart and his diplomatic assignments in such posts as Kenya and Turkey. Others insist on his good nature and devotion to his late mother.
"This is a personal catastrophe, which he will have to live with for the rest of his life," retired Air Force Col. Stan Beerli wrote.
Marshall's downfall began in 2006 when one of his sons, Philip Marshall, filed civil court papers saying his father was stealing from Astor while neglecting her health and hygiene. Anthony Marshall denied the claims but stepped aside as his mother's guardian.

The family feud spurred a criminal investigation and ultimately a trial featuring such high-wattage witnesses as Barbara Walters and Henry Kissinger, both friends of Astor's.

Prosecutors cast Marshall as a money-hungry, hardhearted heir who couldn't wait to get at his mother's millions. He exploited her dementia to engineer changes to Astor's will that benefited him over her favorite charities, awarded himself a more than $1 million raise for managing her money and even plucked artwork off her walls, prosecutors said.

Marshall's lawyers say he had legal authority to give himself gifts and raises on her behalf, and she knew what she was doing when she altered her will to benefit a son she loved.

He was her son by her first husband, J. Dryden Kuser, whom Marshall describes in recent court papers as an alcoholic who pushed the pregnant Astor down a flight of stairs. They divorced, and she later married stockbroker Charles Marshall; her son took his name. After Charles Marshall's death, she married Vincent Astor, who died in 1959. Anthony Marshall says both stepfathers virtually exiled him from his mother.

The trial depicted a fraught relationship between him and his mother, who disapproved of his wife and once told a friend, "I wish Tony had made something of himself instead of waiting for the money."

It left a sad impression on juror Barbara Tomanelli.

"This is a dysfunctional family, for all the advantages they had," she said after the verdict.

Estate lawyer Francis X. Morrissey Jr., 66, also is to be sentenced Monday. He was convicted of helping manipulate Astor into changing her will. He could get up to seven years behind bars.

Prosecutors haven't said what sentences they will suggest. Morrissey's lawyer didn't return telephone calls.

LONDON (AFP) –
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard won't take any pleasure from plunging West Ham deeper into relegation trouble even though the former Hammers star faces another hostile reception at Upton Park on Sunday.

Lampard has been public enemy number one in east London since quitting West Ham to join bitter rivals Chelsea for 11 million pounds (12.3 million euros) in 2001.

The 31-year-old, who spent nine years at West Ham, has suffered vicious abuse from the Hammers fans every time he has faced his old club and he knows it will be no different this weekend.

But despite all the taunts, Lampard is sad to see the Hammers languishing second bottom of the Premier League because of former Chelsea favourites Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke - now manager and assistant at West Ham - who worked with the England international at Stamford Bridge.

"I have a lot of respect for Gianfranco and Steve Clarke. It's been difficult for them. They have a lot of financial difficulties and have had to sell a lot of players," Lampard said.

"I don't want to see them do badly at all. They're great lads. It's difficult, but then it's a difficult league."

While Lampard would genuinely like to see West Ham prosper, he will show no compassion on Sunday as Chelsea bid to cement their position as league leaders going into the busy Christmas programme.

By the time Chelsea kick off on Sunday, they could be ahead of Manchester United only on goal difference if the reigning champions win at Fulham 24 hours earlier.

After recording a string of convincing victories last month, Carlo Ancelotti's side have spluttered of late.

They won for the first time in five matches against Portsmouth on Wednesday, but their victory against the league's bottom club was less than convincing.

The Blues have conceded 11 goals in five games and looked nervous at the back again against Portsmouth.

Yet Lampard is adamant his side are still on course to win the title and he expects them to rediscover their dominant form soon.

"I'm sure people would have been talking again if we hadn't beaten Portsmouth, but that's why it was important to win," he said.

"We're having a patch at the moment where we're not pulling away from teams when we might do and every free-kick and corner seems to drop to them in a funny way. We are being punished every time and it is just a phase we're in.

"We went a long time without conceding goals, and that was fantastic, but now we're having a patch where we are.

"It's important we just keep going. We're three points clear at the top and we need to pick up wins. I think we can move on and put this all behind us."

Chelsea's hopes of a second successive win will be boosted by Didier Drogba's return to action after the Ivory Coast striker missed the Portsmouth win with a back problem.

West Ham welcome back Matthew Upson from a hamstring injury, but will be without Carlton Cole, Valon Behrami, Zavon Hines and Kieron Dyer.

Those injuries have only added to the gloom around Upton Park after three consecutive defeats.

The tame manner of the loss at Bolton in midweek was especially worrying for Zola, but the Italian has no intention of changing his purist principles.

Zola, who played for Chelsea from 1996 to 2003 after being sold by Ancelotti when he was in charge at Parma, said: "The last two games were painful, but this is the situation. They belong to the past and if you keep switching your mind to the past, it doesn't help.

"At West Ham, they want to play football in a certain way. They're not interested in playing differently, and that's why I was appointed and what I try to do.

"I try to keep that plan and to get results as well. I don't see why you shouldn't play good football and get results as well."

NEW YORK – The latest winner of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" is the biggest loser in the show's history. Danny Cahill, a 40-year-old land surveyor and musician from Broken Arrow, Okla., lost 239 pounds to win the $250,000 grand prize.
Cahill went from 430 pounds to 191 pounds, losing 55.58 percent of his body weight in six months and three weeks — and breaking the record for the most weight lost by any contestant.
The Nielsen Co. said that with 13.4 million viewers, the season eight finale of "The Biggest Loser" on Tuesday night had the show's biggest audience in four years.
Erik Chopin, who won in 2006, held the previous record, dropping 214 pounds. He went from 407 pounds to 193 pounds.
In an interview Wednesday on the "Today" show, Cahill said his family motivated him to change his lifestyle.
NBC said season nine will premiere Jan. 5.
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NEW YORK – Andy Pettitte is staying with the New York Yankees, agreeing to an $11.75 million, one-year contract.
The deal Wednesday represents a raise for the 37-year-old left-hander, who made $10.5 million last season and helped the Yankees win their 27th World Series title.
Pettitte became the first pitcher to start and win the clincher in all three postseason rounds. After beating Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angels in the AL playoffs, he defeated the Philadelphia Phillies on three days' rest in the sixth and final game of the World Series, earning his fifth championship ring.
Pettitte was 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 regular-season starts, and 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA in five postseason starts. His 18 postseason victories are a major league record.
He had a $5.5 million base salary last season and earned $3 million in bonuses based on innings and $2 million for staying on the active roster the entire season. He missed $750,000 bonuses for 200 and 210 innings, finishing with 194 2-3.
New York originally offered him $10 million last December but cut the guaranteed amount after it agreed to big-money contracts with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira.