Former Adelphia Communications Corp. vice president of finance James Brown testified Monday that founder and ex-chairman John Rigas complained several times that the company didn't richly compensate him and his family, Dow Jones reported.
John Rigas, however, omitted hundreds of millions of dollars used to fund securities purchases and other perks, Brown added.
Brown continued his testimony at the trial of John Rigas, his sons -- former chief financial officer Timothy Rigas and former executive VP of operations Michael Rigas -- and former director of internal reporting Michael Mulcahey for 24 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and securities fraud. All four men have pleaded not guilty.
Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud in November 2002.
According to Brown, John Rigas told investment bankers in April 2002 that he and his sons had "never taken big salaries and never taken any stock options or sold any stock,” Dow Jones reported.
Brown added that he told Timothy Rigas, “He should really tell his father to stop making that speech ... because people would either think he's lying or dumb," and Timothy Rigas’ response was, "I really can't control my father."
