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Abstract
Adelphia Communications, the nation's sixth-largest cable operator and one-time fiefdom of the Rigas family, were trotted out for public consumption. In a filing with the SEC, the company detailed a tangled web of partnerships and side businesses all centered around Adelphia founder and family patriarch John Rigas. Even television drama could never fully detail the rapid downfall of Adelphia that began March 27 when executives revealed unsecured loans to family members-then went out for a long lunch, according to several sources. Since then, Adelphia's stock has plummeted more than 80%; multiple shareholder class action lawsuits have been filed; grand jury investigations began in New York and Pennsylvania; the company launched an internal investigation into the financial activities.