Opening arguments in the criminal trial over longtime Metropolitan Museum trustee and benefactor Brooke Astor’s estate begin tomorrow. Today’s New York Times covers an earlier Astor estate case, in which “John Jacob Astor VI accused Brooke Russell Astor of using ‘improper conduct and undue influence’ to persuade her husband, Vincent Astor, who had died from a heart attack at 67, to change his will in her favor. One curious yet riveting fact is highlighted in the story. Mrs. Astor hired a publicist to keep the world informed of developments in that case, even though, as she admitted at the time, “her husband ‘winced when he saw the name Astor dragged through the papers.'” Luckily for him, Vincent Astor isn’t around today. As the actress said, Fasten your seat belts. It’s bound to be a bumpy ride.