NEW YORK (Reuters) – The 85-year-old son of the late New York socialite Brooke Astor was sentenced to at least one year in prison yesterday for looting his mother’s estate of money that had been set aside for charity.

Anthony Marshall, Astor’s only child, was sentenced to a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years by New York State Supreme Court Judge A. Kirke Bartley, who rejected a request from Marshall’s lawyers to spare him prison time.

“It is a paradox for me that such abundance has led to such incredible sadness,” Bartley said at sentencing.

Defense lawyers argued prison time would equal a death sentence for Marshall because of his age and poor health, and they appealed his conviction.

Marshall remained free on bail for at least the next 30 days to give defense lawyers time to find a medically appropriate jail and to apply for bail pending the appeal.

A jury convicted Marshall in October of grand larceny, falsifying business reports and other charges tied to his handling of his mother’s fortune, estimated to be worth around $200 million. Prosecutors said he took advantage of his mother’s dementia to siphon away her money. Marshall’s own son and others have accused him of keeping his mother in squalid conditions, including making her sleep on a couch stained with dog urine. Astor, who married into the storied Astor fortune and represented a bygone era of philanthropic high society, died in August 2007 at age 105.

Under state law, Marshall would have to serve one year before getting review of his sentence. But he could also become eligible for medical parole.