According to various wire reports, a federal judge granted Adelphia founder John Rigas a bit of leniency, but not until he had also sentenced him to 15 years in prison in the multibillion dollar fraud of Adelphia Communications. His son, Tim, got 20 years.
Rigas can get out after two years if his already-poor health gets dramatically worse.
U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand said he was inclined to have imposed a much harsher sentence on the cable executive whose family's financial dealings helped land the company in bankruptcy, but took the 80-year-old Rigas's age and bladder cancer into consideration.
Sand said that after Rigas has served two years he can seek release if doctors believe he has less than three months to live.
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