John J. Rigas was (born November 14, 1924 in Wellsville, New York) was one of the founders 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 franchise of the National Hockey League. The son of immigrant parents, he followed a path from rags to riches - but finally to jail after a major accounting fraud scandal. November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Wellsville, New York is a village and a town in Allegany County, New York. ... For other uses, see Adelphia (disambiguation). ... The Buffalo Sabres are a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Buffalo, New York. ... The modernized NHL shield logo debuted in 2005, replacing the orange and black shield, which had been used since the leagues inception. ...

Beginnings

John was born in an apartment above the Texas Hot in Wellsville, New York, where his first job was at the age of nine 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, New York. He studied engineering and earned a bachelor of science degree in management engineering. He returned to Wellsville only to take a job with the Sylvania corporation in Emporium, Pennsylvania. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a private university in Troy, New York, near Albany, founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer. ... Looking west down Broadway at downtown Troy. ... Sylvania literally means forest land. Ít is used to mean several different things: Sylvania is the name of several places in the United States of America and elsewhere: Sylvania, Alabama, USA Sylvania, Georgia, USA Sylvania, Ohio, USA Sylvania, New South Wales and Sylvania Waters, New South Wales, suburbs of Sydney... Emporium is a borough located in Cameron County, Pennsylvania. ...

Business career

In 1951 Rigas started his first business venture by buying a movie theater in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, an obscure town midway between Wellsville and Emporium. He borrowed the money from his family and friends to purchase the theater and started operating it in the evenings while he worked days at the Sylvania plant. Coudersport is a borough located in Potter County, Pennsylvania. ...

The Rigas cable television enterpise first started in Coudersport when the family purchased the town's TV cable franchise. Always looking to grow his company, John had ambitious plans and teamed with his brother Gus to start Adelphia after buying out his partners. They borrowed heavily to buy more and more suburban cable companies and avoided city franchises. Eventually, 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. Adelphia also lauched product lines such as high-speed cable Internet 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. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2005 John Rigas and his sons, Timothy Rigas and Michael Rigas, and Ellen Rigas, were charged with tax evasion and pleaded not guilty in October 2005. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Following John Rigas's arrest, the NHL virtually stripped him of his control over the Sabres team. After a period in bankruptcy, the franchise was purchased by another multimillionaire from western New York, Tom Golisano. Blase Thomas Golisano (1942-) is the billionaire founder of Paychex, the second-largest payroll processor in the United States, and owner of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team. ...

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