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John J. Rigas was (born November 14, 1924 in Wellsville, New York) was the founder of Adelphia Communications Corporation which at its peak was one of the largest cable companies in the United States. He was also the majority owner of the Buffalo Sabres NHL Hockey Team. The son of immigrant parents, his rise to power is like so many other American classic rags to riches tales. John was born in an apartment above the Texas Hot in Wellsiville, New York, where his first job was at the age of 9 busing tables. After graduating from Wellsville High School he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was placed in the Armored Infantry Division in 1943 and he saw combat action in France. After the war ended he returned to life in Wellsville and quickly enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. He stuided engineering and earned a bachelor of science degree in management engineering. He returned to Wellsiville only to take a job with Sylvania corporation in Emporium, PA. In 1951 Rigas's started his first business venture by buying a movie theater in Coudersport, PA which was midway between Wellsville and Emporium. He borrowed the money from his family and friends to purchase the theater and start operating it in the evenings while he worked days at the Sylvania plant. His cable television enterpise first started in Coudersport, PA when purchased the communitys TV cable franchise. Always looking to grow, Rigas had ambitious plans and teamed with his Brother Gus to start Adelphia after buying out his partners. They borrowed heavly to buy more and more suburban cable companys and avoided city franchies. After time, Adelphia became the largest cable provider outside Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and South Florida and had systems reaching over 30 states and over 5.6 million customers. Adephida also lauched product lines such as high speed cable internet provider service and long distance telephone service. Rigas was honored numerous times including honorary degrees by three universities. He was forced to resign from his position as CEO in May 2002 after being indicted for bank, wire, and securities fraud. Timothy J. Rigas and Michael J. Rigas, his sons, as well as Peter Venetis, his son-in-law, and Michael Mulcahey were also charged with participation in these crimes. The executives are accused of looting the corporation by concealing $2.3 billion in liabilities from corporate investors and of using corporation funds as their personal funds. Rigas was convicted of the charges in the summer of 2004 and on June 20, 2005 was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Adelphia Corporation was forced to file for bankruptcy after it had acknowledged that the three Rigases had taken $3.1 billion in loans that were not recorded on the books. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org"
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