Monterey, CA : Charities Receive Long Overdue $100 Million After Elder Abuse Case Is Finally Settled

Monterey, CA : Charities Receive Long Overdue $100 Million After Elder Abuse Case Is Finally Settled :  View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

One of the most sordid cases of financial elder abuse in history is finally winding to an end, with a man convicted of 14 counts of fraud against his mother 's trust fund (Brooke Astor, who died in 2007 at the age of 105) agreeing to settle the case.  The man received a 1-3 year prison sentence along with his attorney but both have been out on bail for three years delaying the sentence via legal appeals and at this point it's unlikely the son, 88 years old, will go to prison.  Authorities say he's likely to be given a compassionate pardon due to his ill health and advanced age.  The son gets to keep $14.5 million but he has agreed to relinquish $100 million from Ms. Astor's estate.  This will go to charity, as she intended.  The beneficiaries are mostly New York-based philanthropic organizations such as Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Museum, the Morgan Library & Museums, schools like Rockefeller University and New York University as well as new funds for Central Park and Prospect Parks and a number of local playgrounds.  The Wildlife Conservation Society will also get a windfall, while the two biggest beneficiaries are the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I'm glad to see that Ms. Astor's wishes are being carried out, albeit 5 years later than they should have.  Unfortunately, these cases are all too common and non-profits often get caught in the cross-hairs as beneficiaries fight over the outcome of the will, especially when there are millions involved as there were in this case.