New York (July 12, 2004) -- A day after his father and brother were convicted by a Manhattan jury, a federal judge declared a mistrial on 17 fraud charges against former Adelphia Communications Corp. vice president Michael Rigas, according to published reports.
Judge Leonard B. Sand had ordered jurors to continue deliberations on Friday on the 15 securities fraud and two bank fraud charges against Michael Rigas, but jurors couldn't break the two-day deadlock, Bloomberg reported. A day earlier, Michael Rigas was acquitted of conspiracy and wire-fraud charges.
The mistrial came a day after Michael's father, John J. Rigas, founder of the nation's sixth-largest cable company, and Michael's brother, Timothy Rigas, were convicted on charges of conspiracy and fraud in Adelphia's collapse.
Following eight days of jury deliberations, John Rigas and Timothy Rigas, Adelphia's former chief financial officer, were found guilty of one count of conspiracy, 15 counts of securities fraud and two counts of bank fraud, according to published reports.
Prosecutors charged that the Rigases had used $2.3 billion in Adelphia funds for their own personal benefit and lied to investors and banks about the company's financial condition. Adelphia filed for bankruptcy in June of 2002. While they were acquitted on wire fraud charges, both men could face substantial prison terms, The New York Times reported.
A fourth defendant, Michael C. Mulcahey, Adelphia's former director of internal reporting, was acquitted on all counts.
-- WebCPA staff
