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Federal prosecutors have told a judge that the six-year-old indictment of Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas and his son Timothy should be dismissed. Last week US District Judge John Jones III dismissed a conspiracy count against the Rigases. Prosecutors say, in light of that ruling, eight counts of tax evasion should be dismissed as well. The IRS is still pursuing a civil case against them. 86-year-old John Rigas is serving a 12-year prison term and 55-year-old Timothy is serving a 17-year term after being convicted of stealing nearly $2 billion from Adelphia and lying about the cable company’s finances. John is expected to be released on January 23, 2018. Timothy’s expected release date is June 23, 2022. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

John Rigas is back in Pennsylvania – but still behind bars. The 86-year-old former CEO of Adelphia Communications and his son Timothy were transferred from a federal prison in North Carolina to the Allenwood federal prison in Union County earlier this week. Rigas and his son were convicted of securities and bank fraud in 2004 after a $3.2 billion accounting fraud scandal. They are serving 12-year and 17-year sentences respectively. They had been serving time in Butner, North Carolina since 2007. A federal tax fraud case is pending against both Rigases in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and Allenwood is closer to the court. The tax trial isn’t expected to begin until next year.

A U.S. appeals court says taking John and Timothy Rigas to trial a second time may amount to double jeopardy. The Adelphia Communications founder and his son are already serving sentences for fraud and conspiracy convictions in New York. John Rigas is serving a 12-year prison term and Timothy Rigas a 17-year term. Prosecutors say they defrauded the former Coudersport company out of $1.9 billion. The Justice Department wants to prosecute them a second time in Pennsylvania for alleged failure to pay taxes on that money, a charge that wasn’t filed in the first case. But a 7-4 majority of 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals judges say the two cases stem from one criminal conspiracy with overlapping acts and participants. They have ordered the trial judge to review the record with that in mind.

A federal appeals court is reviewing the case of Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas and his son to see if they can face a second federal fraud trial, this time in Pennsylvania. Lawyers for John and Timothy Rigas will argue that a second trial in Pennsylvania amounts to double jeopardy. John Rigas is serving a 12-year prison term and Timothy Rigas a 17-year term after convictions in New York for defrauding Adelphia. Prosecutors say they used the Coudersport-based company like a piggy bank. A 3rd Circuit panel had sided 2-1 with the Rigases' double-jeopardy claims and ordered a lower-court review. The full panel is rehearing the issue at prosecutors' request.

Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff has been transferred to a federal prison in Butner, N.C., where the 71-year-old will serve his 150-year sentence. Inmates at Butner include Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas and his son Timothy, both found guilty in 2004 of securities fraud. 84-year-old John Rigas is scheduled to be released in 2018, and 53-year-old Timothy Rigas in 2022.

Adelphia founder John Rigas and his son Timothy face more tax-evasion charges under a new indictment by a federal grand jury. The indictment adds 2001 to the years for which 83-year-old John Rigas and his 52-year-old son Timothy Rigas are charged. John Rigas is the founder of the bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. Timothy Rigas was once chief financial officer. They are imprisoned following convictions in 2004 in New York on charges including bank fraud and securities fraud. The two have filed an appeal challenging their prosecution in Pennsylvania. In this case, the government alleges they diverted Adelphia funds for personal use without reporting it as income. The new indictment says this caused the government a tax loss of $483 million for 1998 through 2001.

A federal judge has refused to dismiss charges of conspiracy and tax evasion against Adelphia Founder John Rigas and his son Timothy Rigas. The charges are separate from the fraud charges on which they were prosecuted in New York. "In the New York action, the Rigases were charged with agreeing to conceal from investors, analysts and lenders the failing financial condition of Adelphia," District Judge John E. Jones III wrote. "In this action, the Rigases are charged with agreeing to avoid paying income taxes. These two different objectives mark two different conspiracies." John Rigas is serving 12 years in prison and Timothy Rigas, once Adelphia's chief financial officer, is serving 17 years following their 2004 New York convictions on charges including conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud. The Rigases argued that their acquittal on wire fraud and conspiracy charges in New York means they did not scheme to defraud the company by diverting funds for persona...

John and Timothy Rigas will be spending less time in prison than they were originally sentenced to. A judge has reduced their sentences by three years. John Rigas had been serving a 15-year prison term, while his son, Timothy, Adelphia's former chief financial officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Rigases were convicted of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. When it collapsed into bankruptcy in 2002, Adelphia was the country's fifth-largest cable TV company.

Two Massachusetts men have been indicted on fraud charges in connection with the sale of the former Adelphia building in Coudersport. Allen Seymour and Raymond Desautels III are accused of taking 2 million dollars from Kevin Phelan that he was planning to use to buy the building. Officials say the two men planned to use the money to falsely establish that they had substantial net worth. Seymour was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers as he was headed to Venezuela on a private jet with his wife, five children, family dog and $1.3 million of Phelan's money in brown paper bags and plastic bags hidden in his luggage. The FBI investigated the case. The US Attorney's office in Massachusetts is prosecuting.

Victims of securities fraud committed at Adelphia Communications can ask for restitution to recover some of their financial losses, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Adelphia founder John Rigas and his son Timothy, the company's former finance chief, were convicted of looting the company to pay for personal land deals and vacation homes, and are now serving prison sentences. More than $700 million in criminal forfeitures were made to the government as a result of the case, which will be distributed to victims of the fraud. Petitions must be submitted by July 16 to qualify for a distribution from the Adelphia Victim Fund. For more information, visit Adelphia Victim Fund .

John and Timothy Rigas are claiming the government is prosecuting them twice on the same tax evasion and conspiracy charges. The Adelphia founder and his son have filed a motion in U.S. Middle District Court asking charges to be dismissed because they amount to double jeopardy or duplicate prosecution. The two are scheduled for trial in July on charges they obstructed the Internal Revenue Service from collecting more than $300 million in taxes on money they illegally obtained from Adelphia. The Rigases contend the charges are based on the same alleged illegal activity for which they were convicted in New York in 2004 on conspiracy, bank fraud and security fraud charges. They were acquitted of wire fraud. John Rigas is serving a 15-year prison term and his son 20 years. Both have maintained their innocence.

03/03/08 - Supreme Court Rejects Rigas Final Appeal Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas and his son, Timothy, have lost their final appeal of their convictions for fraud that led to the collapse of the nation's fifth-largest cable television company. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal without comment this morning. 83-year-old John Rigas is serving a 15-year prison term, while his son, the former chief financial officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. Federal investigators began looking at Adelphia after it said in a footnote to a press release in 2002 that the company had $2.2 billion in off-balance sheet debt. 03/03/08 - Man Sentenced for Murdering Wife A Youngsville man who admitted to killing his wife will spend the next 20 to 40 years in prison. Christian Iverson was sentenced on a charge of third-degree murder. In February of last year, he called 9-1-1 to say he shot his wife Patrici...