Adelphia's Rigas family resists leaving board-NYT
Tuesday May 21, 6:00 AM EDT
NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - The Rigas family is resisting to give up five seats at troubled Adelphia Communications Corp.'s (ADLAE) board despite mounting pressure from outside directors and bankers, people close to the situation told the New York Times.
In its Tuesday online edition, the Times said founder John Rigas and his son Timothy -- who last week resigned to their posts as chief executive and chief financial officer respectively -- remain directors at Adelphia.
Sources also told the Times that John Rigas could invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked to testify about the family's role in Adelphia's finances.
Banks want the Rigas family to give up voting rights connected to its equity holdings and give back cable systems with 700,000 subscribers, the Times reported. Adelphia was not available for comment.
The company, which is expected by many to file for bankruptcy, is under investigation by grand juries in two states and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over loans the company guaranteed to partnerships controlled by the Rigas family.
A separate report from the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said that the Rigas family was in talks to transfer about $2 billion in assets to the firm to help offset what some of its members borrowed from the No. 6 U.S. cable operator in 2001.
The saga continues
There are 2 replies to this message