Adelphia's Path To Bankruptcy Here are key events in the Adelphia story and the case brought against the cable company's founders.

1952 John Rigas, operating a small theater in Coudersport, Pa., buys a cable franchise on a friend's advice. At the time only 60 small cable systems exist in the United States. Rigas and his brother, Gus, name their company Adelphia, Greek for "brothers."

1983 John Rigas buys out Gus Rigas' interest. Later, his sons — Michael, Timothy and James — become executive vice presidents, directors and principal stockholders.

1994 John Rigas becomes majority owner of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team with a $15 million investment.

1998 Adelphia reaches 2 million customers.

1999 The company's size more than doubles when Timothy Rigas, the chief financial officer and chief accounting officer, leads in arranging the acquisitions of FrontierVision, Century Communications and Harron Communications.

2000 John Rigas becomes owner of the Sabres when he buys out the minority shareholders.

March 26, 2002 Adelphia stock trades at $20.39.

March 27, 2002 Adelphia says the Rigas family borrowed $2.3 billion through various family-owned partnerships. The company says it may be liable for some of the debt. Adelphia's stock drops 18 percent. Subsidiary, Adelphia Business Solutions Inc., files for bankruptcy protection.

March 28, 2002 Adelphia acknowledges that it may be liable for as much as $500 million in debt it guaranteed for Adelphia Business Solutions Inc.

April 1, 2002 Adelphia says in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it needs more time to review its accounting and will not meet the deadline for filing its annual 10-K financial statement. Stock closes at $13.12.

April 2, 2002 The first in a flurry of shareholder lawsuits accuses Adelphia of misleading stockholders by failing to disclose the off-balance-sheet debt, and alleges that a drop in the stock price was "in response to these negative announcements."

April 3, 2002 Adelphia says the SEC is conducting an informal inquiry into the off-the-books debt.

April 4, 2002 Adelphia announces it has hired three investment banks as financial advisers to explore possible cable asset sales and other ways to reduce debt.

April 17, 2002 Adelphia reveals that the SEC had opened a formal investigation into its accounting practices.

May 2, 2002 Adelphia says it expects to restate 1999, 2000 and 2001 financial results to show the off-the-books debt as liabilities.

May 8, 2002 Adelphia announces it is soliciting bids for cable systems in the Los Angeles area, Florida, Virginia and elsewhere in the Southeast — nearly half of its 5.7 million subscribers — to reduce debt.

May 15, 2002 Rigas, 77, steps down as CEO. Erland E. Kailbourne, chairman of the Adelphia board's audit committee, is named chairman and interim CEO. Nasdaq halts trading of Adelphia's stock, citing a need for "additional information."

May 16, 2002 Adelphia announces the resignation of its chief financial officer, Timothy J. Rigas.

May 17, 2002 Adelphia discloses that federal grand juries in New York and central Pennsylvania are probing the company's finances. Kailbourne says the company has missed $44.7 million in bond interest payments.

May 23, 2002 The Rigas family relinquishes control as John Rigas and sons Timothy, Michael and James resign as directors. The family agrees to help cover loans. Adelphia now estimates it is liable for $3.1 billion in family debts.

May 24, 2002 Adelphia releases details showing that the Rigas family used the company's cash or assets to help it buy and operate the Sabres, expand personal cable company holdings, acquire timberland and invest in a golf course.

June 3, 2002 Adelphia's stock is dropped from Nasdaq and trades at 75 cents on the over-the-counter market.

June 10, 2002 Adelphia says it would revise its subscriber count downward by more than 47,000 to 5.76 million. The company says it dismissed Deloitte & Touche as its accountant and is seeking a replacement.

June 14, 2002 Adelphia says it has hired the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Adelphia also says it fired seven employees "whose primary function was to provide services to members of the Rigas family."

June 17, 2002 Adelphia misses $96 million in bond interest and preferred stock dividend payments.

June 25, 2002 Adelphia files for bankruptcy.

July 24, 2002 John Rigas is arrested along with sons Timothy and Michael on conspiracy charges alleging they looted their company, using it as their "personal piggy bank."

Sept. 23, 2002 John J. Rigas, his sons, Timothy and Michael; James R. Brown, former vice president of finance; and Michael C. Mulcahey, former director of internal reporting, are indicted on charges that include conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud.

Nov. 14, 2002 Former Adelphia executive James R. Brown pleads guilty to securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and bank fraud in a deal to testify against Rigas family members. He had faced up to 30 years in prison for the most serious charge, bank fraud.

Jan. 10, 2003 Adelphia's former accounting director pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Timothy A. Werth enters the plea as part of a deal with prosecutors aimed at strengthening the government's case against Rigas and his sons.

July 8, 2004 John Rigas and his son, Timothy, are convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud for looting Adelphia and duping its investors. Another Rigas son, Michael, is acquitted of conspiracy charges and the jury is undecided on remaining counts against him.

April 21, 2005 Time Warner and Comcast, America's two largest cable TV companies, announce an agreement to buy Adelphia's assets. In the $17.6 billion multipart deal, Comcast gets an additional 1.8 million subscribers while Time Warner adds 3.5 million. Approval by regulators and bankruptcy court is required.

June 20, 2005 Adelphia founder John Rigas, 80, is sentenced to 15 years in prison; his son, Timothy, receives a 20-year term. "Were it not for your age and health, I would impose a sentence far greater than I do today," U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand told the elder Rigas.

Oct. 7, 2005 Adelphia's founder and one of his sons are indicted on charges that they didn't pay $300 million in taxes. According to a federal grand jury indictment, former CEO John Rigas failed to report income of $143 million while his son, Timothy, the company's former chief financial officer, failed to report income of $239 million.

Nov. 23, 2005 Former executive Michael Rigas pleads guilty to a charge of making a false entry in a financial record, eliminating the need for his retrial on securities fraud and bank fraud charges. Rigas is a son of Adelphia founder John Rigas.

March 3, 2006 Michael Rigas, 51, was sentenced to 10 months home confinement as a result of his guilty plea to a charge of making a false entry in a company record. The former executive VP for operations is a son of Adelphia founder John Rigas.

Aug. 13, 2007 Timothy Rigas reports to the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, N.C. where he will serve a 20-year prison term for accounting fraud. On Aug. 4, he married the mother of his young daughter.

Credits: CBS News, Associated Press