By Mark Scott
New York City, NY – Adelphia's former vice president of finance, James Brown, continues to deliver damaging testimony against the founding Rigas family. Monday, Brown said John Rigas lied about the compensation he and his sons received while running the company.
According to James Brown, Adelphia founder John Rigas told people several times that the company didn't richly compensate him and his family. Brown testified yesterday that Rigas told investment bankers in April 2002 that he and his sons had never taken big salaries and had never taken any stock options or sold any stock.
Brown said he told Timothy Rigas, who was Adelphia's chief financial officer that, "he should really tell his father to stop making that speech, because people would either think he's lying or dumb." Brown quoted Timothy Rigas as responding that he "really can't control" his father.
John and Timothy Rigas, another son Michael and a fourth former executive are standing trial on charges they improperly withdrew funds from the cable company while lying to investors and the public about its finances.
Brown has pleaded guilty in the case and is testfying for the government in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence.