May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Anthony Marshall, accused of swindling millions of dollars from his mother, Brooke Astor, didn’t disclose his fee for arranging the $10 million sale of a Childe Hassam painting she owned, her former lawyer said.

“You were not told of a $2 million commission?” Elizabeth Loewy, assistant district attorney, asked lawyer Henry Christensen III yesterday in Marshall’s trial in New York State Supreme Court.

“I certainly was not,” said Christensen, 64, who represented both Marshall and Astor in tax and estate matters until 2004.

Marshall, 84, is charged with grand larceny for his role in the 2002 sale of “Up the Avenue from 34th Street, May 1917,” the most serious accusation in an 18-count indictment. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors allege Marshall induced his physically and mentally frail mother to sell the artwork by convincing her she was running out of money. Philippe de Montebello, former chief of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, testified earlier this month that whenever he visited Astor’s Park Avenue duplex she promised to give the Hassam painting to the museum.

Baird Ryan, now with New York-based Art Capital Group, which provides art-based financing, “initiated contact with the buyer and has made the sale possible,” Marshall wrote in a letter to Christensen that was submitted as evidence. The buyer wasn’t disclosed.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Astor in the 1950s was married to an heir of John Jacob Astor and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in her last years. One of New York’s highest-profile philanthropists, she died in 2007, at 105. Marshall and Francis Morrissey, a lawyer accused of conspiring with him, have both pleaded not guilty.

In his third day in the witness stand, Christensen spent hours recounting proposals Marshall made, beginning in the late 1990s, to increase both his inheritance and compensation paid by his mother. Marshall earned $300,000 a year as Astor’s financial adviser, said Christensen.

Marshall was motivated by fear that he wouldn’t be able to provide for his wife, Charlene, after his death, Christensen said.

“This is the beginning of Anthony Marshall’s increasing concern that he wouldn’t have a lot of money for Charlene Marshall,” Christensen said.

Charlene married Marshall in 1992 after she left her first husband, the priest of Astor’s church in Maine. Astor never warmed to her and virtually excluded Charlene from her 1993 will, the lawyer said. Charlene Marshall, 63, sat behind her husband and listened impassively as Christensen gave evidence.

Widow Worksheets

Marshall prepared worksheets illustrating his concern about his wife’s potential financial position should he predecease her. According to a September 2001 calculation, Astor’s investments were worth $67 million and Marshall conservatively valued her real estate in New York, Westchester and Maine at $20 million.

Upon his death, he estimated his wife’s assets would total about $2 million, excluding their $2.1 million Upper East Side apartment, according to the worksheets that were presented in court. Her annual income would be about $115,000, he calculated.

Marshall also intervened in the legacy of Astor’s waterside retreat in Maine, Cove End, Christensen said. He opposed a proposal by his mother to leave a guest cottage on the estate to her grandson Philip Marshall, Anthony’s son, whom she adored, Christensen said.

Astor also proposed to legally require Marshall, on his death, to leave the entire estate to Philip. Her son opposed that as well, the lawyer said.

‘Do the Right Thing’

“He said he would do the right thing by Philip,” Christensen said, “But he didn’t want Philip breathing down his neck.”

As Astor’s health declined, she depended more on her son, the lawyer testified. In December 2002, Marshall met with Christensen to discuss “tax-advantaged” ways to transfer Cove End to him. While they initially discussed a transfer over a decade, the lawyer said Marshall favored an outright gift.

In May 2003, Christensen said he went to Astor’s apartment with a deed and was surprised she signed over the estate to her son. Christensen said he couldn’t recall whether his client knew his name. Only later did he learn that Marshall transferred the property to his wife.

“At that point, had Mr. Marshall discussed with you his intent to give Cove End to his wife, Charlene Marshall?” Loewy asked.

“No,” Christensen replied.

The case is People v. Marshall, 06044-2007, New York Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on the story: Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: May 29, 2009 02:19 EDT