A group of creditor banks of Adelphia Communications have asked a bankruptcy judge to expedite creditor payments by liquidating the assets of the scandal-ridden cable concern.Creditors including Wachovia and PNC asked Judge Robert E. Gerber of Federal Bankruptcy Court here to convert the bankruptcy cases of Adelphia and some affiliates from a reorganization to a wholesale Chapter 7 liquidation.
Under the proposal, a trustee appointed by the court would oversee the liquidation and develop a plan to distribute the proceeds to creditors.
Last week, Adelphia chief operating officer Ronald Cooper resigned following the close of Adelphia's $17.6 billion asset sale to Time Warner and Comcast. Adelphia has been operating in Chapter 11 since 2002.
Two years ago, Adelphia founder John Rigas and son Timothy Rigas were convicted of embezzling roughly $2 billion from Adelphia for their personal use, as well as making fraudulent statements to investors about the financial condition of the Coudersport, Pa.-based company.
