Adelphia founder and son to be resentenced
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Thursday will re-evaluate the prison sentences of Adelphia founder John Rigas and his son Timothy after an appeals court overturned one part of their convictions last year.
The pair, who were convicted by a jury in 2004 of concealing loans and stealing millions from the cable operator are currently serving prison terms of 15 and 20 years, respectively.
U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand in Manhattan will re-sentence the pair at noon, according to court documents.
The Rigases, who began serving their prison term last year, have voluntarily waived their right to appear in court for the re-sentencing, according to court documents.
After the Enron and WorldCom cases, Adelphia was one of the biggest corporate fraud prosecutions in recent years. The father and son, the company's former chief financial officer, were accused of looting the company to pay for personal land deals and vacation homes.
In May 2007, the U.S. appeals court in New York upheld the pair's convictions on 22 of 23 counts of conspiracy and securities and bank fraud. It reversed their conviction on one count of bank fraud, citing insufficient evidence.
The Rigases lost their final appeal in March of this year, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the earlier ruling by the appeals court.
Adelphia was the fifth-largest U.S. cable firm before its 2002 collapse. Its cable system assets have been sold to Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and Time Warner Inc (TWX.N).
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
