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Life Pt. 1
-Born in Wellsville, New York on November 14, 1924
-Both parents where Greek immigrants
-Eldest of four kids
-Born above his father's restaurant -
Period: to
Is John Rigas Ethical or Unethical?
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Life Pt. 2
-Continued to grow up in the small town of Wellsville
-The population was only about 7000 -
Life Pt. 3
-Graduated from Wellsville High School in 1942
-Was inducted into the Wellsville High School Sports Hall of Fame (4 years of track, 3 years of baseball, 2 years of basketball, and a year a of football) -
Life Pt. 4
-Drafted into the US Army right out of high school in 1943
-Served in France and freed a concentration camp named Dachau -
Life Pt. 5
-After serving he returned home and got a job at a lighting manufacturer in Pennsylvania
-After a bit he bought a movie theater with money he got from friends and family
-Continued to work his day job -
Life Pt. 6
-Later in 1952 John and Gus Rigas bought the Coudersport cable television franchise with the money the movie theater was making
-For $300 dollars they bought, renamed, and ran the company
-Renamed it Adelphia Communications Corporation after the Greek word for brothers (his parents were Greek)
-Married Doris Nielsen in this year -
Life Pt. 7
-For almost 40 years the company expands to incorporate 30 states worth of cable companies around the United States and has over 5 million customers
-Adelphia was the largest cable provider outside of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and South Florida -
Life Pt. 8
-Buys the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and made his son the team's president -
Life Pt. 9
-Had major affiliations with the Republican Political Party and donated over $50,000 dollars in 1998 -
Life Pt. 10
-Stepped down as CEO of Adelphia Communications Corporation due to indictment for bank fraud, securities fraud, as well as wire fraud
-Was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing over 2 billion dollars from the company and investors themselves
-His brothers Michael and Timothy Rigas were also found guilty and sentenced
-The VP and Assistant Treasurer Michael Mulcahy testified against them
-Company filed for bankruptcy later that year
-Became one of the largest corporate fraud cases ever -
Life pt. 11
-Later him and his family where also found guilty for using company funds for personal use, essentially as a large piggy bank
-Immediately after his two sons, John and Timothy, were found guilty on 18 counts of bank fraud -
Life pt. 11
-Only served 9 of the 15 years due to declining health -
Life pt. 12
-Ended up dying on September 30, 2021 from bladder cancer and a heart ailment, as well as a hernia -
CLAIM
-He was unethical and not socially responsible. There was no evidence of the company ever doing anything socially responsible.