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Adelphia Execs Indicted on Conspiracy Fraud Charges
Aired September 23, 2002 - 13:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now this news just into CNN. We are told that Adelphia Communications Corporation's founder, John Rigas, and other former company executives have been indicted on conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud charges.
Once again, you are seeing pictures here back when he was taken into custody.
Once again, Adelphia Communications Corporation's founder, John Rigas, and other former company executives indicted today.
We turn to Rhonda Schaffler from the New York Stock Exchange for more on this late-breaking news -- Rhonda.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Hi there, Kyra.
Well, this story, of course, formalizes the charges against those executives of the Rigas family. Adelphia, by the way, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
You gave headline as far as the charges go. But when you dig into the nuts and bolts, here is what it says in this complaint. The family used company funds to construct a $13 million golf course on the senior Rigas' property, and also company funds were used to shuttle family members back and forth on an African safari.
Now, this is one of the stories, really, that created headlines over the summer that really eroded at investor confidence, and another step moves forward in bringing that case along.
But this investor confidence issue is still very much a problem here in the market today. It's one reason why we are seeing the markets sell off. There are more reasons than that, of course. We know that it's not just investor confidence. It's everything. There are concerns about a weak economy, what's going on in Iraq. Oil prices are rising.
Also a new wave of earnings warnings. Sprint lowering its earnings outlook for Sprint PCS, for instance -- that's the wireless unit.
So, all said, Kyra, we've got the Dow down 122 points. So, it is coming back from some low levels we saw early in the trading day. The Dow briefly dipped below 7800. The Nasdaq, too, is down, but it's making a little bit of a comeback from the session lows.
Still, it's a little bit of a comeback. We're really seeing the Nasdaq at levels we have not seen, Kyra, in about six years.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this AARP study, and all of these -- the best places to work. Is our job in there?
SCHAFFLER: Yes. There is a job. This is actually for workers over the age of 55, and that's actually fairly significant these days. We know people are staying on the job longer. Some people have gone back to work. And the expectation is there will be people working longer as they continue to age.
So, here is a survey from the Association of Retired Persons. The companies that make the list basically encourage the older workers to stay on the job. Their jobs are flexible. They have got part-time schedules there. Also, health and retirement benefits and career development make the list.
We are showing you some of the top employers right now. You can see that Howard University stands out there on the top. Nearly half of its workforce is over the age of 50.
And the AARP says 69 percent of workers over the age of 45 plan to stay on their job well into their retirement years. Some people, of course, say they need the money. Others say they simply like to work.
So, Kyra, we leave with you a look at some of those top companies for the older workers. And at least there are several on the list -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rhonda, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 23, 2002 - 13:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now this news just into CNN. We are told that Adelphia Communications Corporation's founder, John Rigas, and other former company executives have been indicted on conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud charges.
Once again, you are seeing pictures here back when he was taken into custody.
Once again, Adelphia Communications Corporation's founder, John Rigas, and other former company executives indicted today.
We turn to Rhonda Schaffler from the New York Stock Exchange for more on this late-breaking news -- Rhonda.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Hi there, Kyra.
Well, this story, of course, formalizes the charges against those executives of the Rigas family. Adelphia, by the way, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
You gave headline as far as the charges go. But when you dig into the nuts and bolts, here is what it says in this complaint. The family used company funds to construct a $13 million golf course on the senior Rigas' property, and also company funds were used to shuttle family members back and forth on an African safari.
Now, this is one of the stories, really, that created headlines over the summer that really eroded at investor confidence, and another step moves forward in bringing that case along.
But this investor confidence issue is still very much a problem here in the market today. It's one reason why we are seeing the markets sell off. There are more reasons than that, of course. We know that it's not just investor confidence. It's everything. There are concerns about a weak economy, what's going on in Iraq. Oil prices are rising.
Also a new wave of earnings warnings. Sprint lowering its earnings outlook for Sprint PCS, for instance -- that's the wireless unit.
So, all said, Kyra, we've got the Dow down 122 points. So, it is coming back from some low levels we saw early in the trading day. The Dow briefly dipped below 7800. The Nasdaq, too, is down, but it's making a little bit of a comeback from the session lows.
Still, it's a little bit of a comeback. We're really seeing the Nasdaq at levels we have not seen, Kyra, in about six years.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this AARP study, and all of these -- the best places to work. Is our job in there?
SCHAFFLER: Yes. There is a job. This is actually for workers over the age of 55, and that's actually fairly significant these days. We know people are staying on the job longer. Some people have gone back to work. And the expectation is there will be people working longer as they continue to age.
So, here is a survey from the Association of Retired Persons. The companies that make the list basically encourage the older workers to stay on the job. Their jobs are flexible. They have got part-time schedules there. Also, health and retirement benefits and career development make the list.
We are showing you some of the top employers right now. You can see that Howard University stands out there on the top. Nearly half of its workforce is over the age of 50.
And the AARP says 69 percent of workers over the age of 45 plan to stay on their job well into their retirement years. Some people, of course, say they need the money. Others say they simply like to work.
So, Kyra, we leave with you a look at some of those top companies for the older workers. And at least there are several on the list -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rhonda, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
