Deadline for Indictments Against Rigases Extended

A deadline originally set for Friday for possible indictments against members of the family that founded Adelphia Communications Corp. was extended for 30 days.

The routine extension, granted by a Manhattan judge, was requested by attorneys for John J. Rigas, 77, and his sons, Timothy, 46, and Michael, 48, federal prosecutors said in court papers. All remain free on $10-million bail.

Prosecutors “have been engaged in, and are continuing, discussions about the case with” defense attorneys, the papers said. “Each of the defendants has requested an extension of 30 days to engage in further discussion with the government.”

A call to an attorney for John J. Rigas was not returned.

Rigas and his sons--who gave up executive posts and board seats at the Coudersport, Pa.-based cable company a month before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June--were accused in a federal complaint filed in July of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the nation’s sixth-largest cable-TV company.

The complaint accused the family of using $252 million in company money to pay margin calls, or demands for cash payments on loans for which they had put up Adelphia stock as collateral. The fraud caused losses to stockholders amounting to more than $60 billion, the complaint said.

One reason prosecutors may be seeking to delay an indictment is to negotiate guilty pleas with the defendants. An attorney for Timothy Rigas, former chief financial officer, told Bloomberg News that no plea discussions are underway.