Former Sabres owner nailed

[HF2002]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Adelphia Communications Corp. agreed on Monday to pay $715 million under a deal with the U.S. government that avoids criminal charges for accounting fraud against the now-bankrupt cable operator.

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[hockeytown9321]

That article was probaly written by Al Strachan or Larry Brooks. No way its true.

 

[Mess]

Well that proves it ... An Owner would never lie or hide Revenue ..

Come on NHLPA .. Lets hitch you wagon to this type of behaviour .. This is a former owner, hate to see what the current ones are doing ??

Bruce McNall would be another fine example of a former owner that is squeaky clean..

 

[AM]

still

trying to get the players into Mcd's so they dont have to associate with the unsavory of the world?

 

[Lanny MacDonald*]

Well that proves it ... An Owner would never lie or hide Revenue ..

Come on NHLPA .. Lets hitch you wagon to this type of behaviour .. This is a former owner, hate to see what the current ones are doing ??

Bruce McNall would be another fine example of a former owner that is squeaky clean..

And who was charged and what company got smoked? Was it the Buffalo Sabres? No, it was Adelphia Communications. The Sabres got screwed over because of the illegal activities within Adelphia, not the other way around. Adelphia was not syphoning money off of the Sabres, so it was not the Sabres trying to hide money. Maybe we should stop paying players millions of dollars a year because Mike Modano can't seem to manage his finances very well? I mean, who in their right mind wants to get into any business relationship with a guy that can't manage his millions and then crys poor whe he can't feed his dog for $300 a week?

 

[nyrmessier011]

That article was probaly written by Al Strachan or Larry Brooks. No way its true.

or CNN

I totally trust the current owners...don't you??

 

[Icey]

Almost 2 years later and your still complaining about Mike Modano and his financial state.

 

[kdb209]

And who was charged and what company got smoked? Was it the Buffalo Sabres? No, it was Adelphia Communications. The Sabres got screwed over because of the illegal activities within Adelphia, not the other way around. Adelphia was not syphoning money off of the Sabres, so it was not the Sabres trying to hide money. Maybe we should stop paying players millions of dollars a year because Mike Modano can't seem to manage his finances very well? I mean, who in their right mind wants to get into any business relationship with a guy that can't manage his millions and then crys poor whe he can't feed his dog for $300 a week?

Who was charged - not Adelphia, but the Rigas family, the founders, principal stock holders, and conveniently the CEO and CFO of Adelphia, who just happen to also own the Sabres, and who pretty much used both Adelphia and the Sabres as their personal piggy bank.

While this doesn't explictly point to any financial misdealings or hiding of revenues by the Sabres, it is quite revealing of the character of a former owner (and by extension and guilt by association other current owners).

 

[Luc Labelle]

While this doesn't explictly point to any financial misdealings or hiding of revenues by the Sabres, it is quite revealing of the character of a former owner (and by extension and guilt by association other current owners).

Ok, by your spellbinding logic, if a franchise owner of my local Subway is involved in criminal activities then by association all 22000+ Subway franchise owner's around the world are guilty. Wow! Then again, it is right at home with the majority of the NHLPA type logic during this lockout.

If anything, the McNall's and Riga's were driven to criminal activity to come up with a way to pay the spoiled NHL players.

 

[Mess]

And who was charged and what company got smoked? Was it the Buffalo Sabres? No, it was Adelphia Communications. The Sabres got screwed over because of the illegal activities within Adelphia, not the other way around. Adelphia was not syphoning money off of the Sabres, so it was not the Sabres trying to hide money. Maybe we should stop paying players millions of dollars a year because Mike Modano can't seem to manage his finances very well? I mean, who in their right mind wants to get into any business relationship with a guy that can't manage his millions and then crys poor whe he can't feed his dog for $300 a week?

Adelphia Communications Corp.

Federal prosecutors continued their hunt for corporate miscreants last year with a fraud trial of four former executives from Adelphia Communications Corp. At the center of the allegations stood John Rigas, the patriarch of the Rigas family who founded the nation's sixth largest cable company decades ago. His two sons, Michael and Timothy, also faced charges of looting company assets and using its bank accounts as a personal piggy-bank. A fourth executive, Michael Mulcahey, was also charged for contributing to the fraud.

The trial, which stretched over four months, was among the longest in 2004. After a string of victories for white-collar prosecutions by the Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit of the Southern District U.S. Attorney's Office, the Adelphia trial ended with a split verdict. John and Timothy Rigas were found guilty of 18 counts of securities and bank fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud for hiding $2.3 billion in company debt from investors and regulators and using company funds to pay for lavish personal expenses. Sentencing is scheduled for later this month.

Read On: http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/specialsNYLJ.jsp?id=1109128225384

Buffalo Sabres books are probably fine, they only probably committed the crimes against the parent company Adelphia.

Rigas probably never considererd moving money back and forth between the Sabres and Adelphia to misrepresent actual figures .. I mean hiding 2.3 billion is no easy task after all ..

Bob Goodenow come take a look at this for yourself or can we use the fact that he was found guilt of 18 different counts that their may be a bit of a problem with the numbers ..

In fact Bettman should employ Rigas as a consultant from prison .. The NHL revenue was reported as $ 2.1 Billion and Rigas got away with hiding 2.3 Billion .. With his assistance and expertise the NHL can have the Hard Cap set at ** ZERO **even without linkage .

 

[PecaFan]

I always laugh when folks try and use this case as an example of NHL fraud.

It's the other way around The fraud was perpetrated, so that the guy could indulge himself, and buy a hockey team as an expensive toy. The Sabres were the beneficiaries of the fraud, not the victims.

 

[PecaFan]

using company funds to pay for lavish personal expenses.

AKA The Buffalo Sabres.

 

[Hasbro]

Former Sabres owner nailed

I thought you were talking about in prison.

 

[Winger98]

I always laugh when folks try and use this case as an example of NHL fraud.

It's the other way around The fraud was perpetrated, so that the guy could indulge himself, and buy a hockey team as an expensive toy. The Sabres were the beneficiaries of the fraud, not the victims.

It clearly doesn't prove NHL fraud. What it shows is that several owners throughout history of the league have shown to be less than honest when it comes to money matters, if they think they can line their pockets a bit more. And that resulting distrust by the players should be understood and even expected.

That's not to say the financial system of the league doesn't need to change. I think it does, but it should also raise some red flags over how bad the owners claim to be. I'm sure some are really badly off, but I'm also sure there are others which aren't as badly off as they may claim, or at least not for reasons that are entirely hockey related.

Another thing that makes the owners look bad as they try to enforce a tighter salary structure league wide is the image they have of owning a team as a toy. You said it yourself, Rigas owned it as a toy and I think it's fairly clear that a fair number of other owners also feel this way. If you're a player and you look at teams being treated as toys, you'd have to wonder "what do they care how much they pay me? It's not like they're worried about their finances anyway." Does it hold true for every team? Of course not. But does it get associated with quite a few teams, possibly a majority? I think so.

I don't think this discussion necessarily speaks as to the actual state of the game or how much either side should give in. I don't think it has anything to do with anything concrete and tangible. What Rigas and others being hit up on fraud charges does is show why the NHL and NHLPA are so at odds on the non-concrete levels, the personal levels. This is why someone like Goodenow can go to the players and tell them the owners are a bunch of wealthy, lying fat cats and if they just hold the course, everything will be okay and get them to follow him through hell and high water.

This isn't to say all owners are bad or all players are blind followers, but a few bad apples can taint the whole bunch and, at leat I think so, that it has been one of the prime reasons the lockout has went on with both sides being so steadfast in their stances.

 

[hockeytown9321]

If anything, the McNall's and Riga's were driven to criminal activity to come up with a way to pay the spoiled NHL players.

This has got to go near the top of the list of most asinine comments made regarding the lockout. Its the players fault some owners are crooks?

 

[ResidentAlien*]

Ok, by your spellbinding logic, if a franchise owner of my local Subway is involved in criminal activities then by association all 22000+ Subway franchise owner's around the world are guilty. Wow! Then again, it is right at home with the majority of the NHLPA type logic during this lockout.

If anything, the McNall's and Riga's were driven to criminal activity to come up with a way to pay the spoiled NHL players.

So the owner of the subway shop was forced to criminal activity because his employees wanted raises..I get it now.

 

[nyrmessier011]

I thought you were talking about in prison.

 

[thinkwild]

Buffalo Sabres werent hiding any revenues, because no one was asking them what they were. If they were to be asked what their revenues were, we can look at cases at the businesses under investigation in the US as a Who's Who of NHL ownership.

The Rigas fraud was said to be spent on lavish estates on homes, not the Sabres. If the Sabres payroll was dependent on Revenues, the character of the people making the revenue determination is quite clear.

 

[Boltsfan2029]

While this doesn't explictly point to any financial misdealings or hiding of revenues by the Sabres, it is quite revealing of the character of a former owner (and by extension and guilt by association other current owners).

Hmmm. So, using this logic, Theo Fleury means hockey players are drug addicts/substance abusers, Rob Ramage means hockey players are drunk drivers, Dany Heatley means hockey players commit vehicular homicide, our trio (or however many it was) overseas means hockey players are rapists.

If one accountant embezzles from a client, they all do; if one cop accepts a bride, all cops are bad.

"Guilt by association," no?

 

[old kummelweck]

the sabres used adelphia like a cash-machine. I think in the end the orginazion owed adelphia like $50 million or something like that.

 

[gerbilanium]

Hmmm. So, using this logic, Theo Fleury means hockey players are drug addicts/substance abusers, Rob Ramage means hockey players are drunk drivers, Dany Heatley means hockey players commit vehicular homicide, our trio (or however many it was) overseas means hockey players are rapists.

If one accountant embezzles from a client, they all do; if one cop accepts a bride, all cops are bad.

"Guilt by association," no?

Let's not forget:

Bryan Fogarty: All players are prone to break into high schools in the middle of the night high as a kite, get naked and pour mazola oil all over themselves.

Kevin Stevens: Players are all crackheads who will get caught smoking crack with hookers even though they may be married.

Mike Danton: All players will one day go cuckoo for cocoa puffs and enlist college students to try and kill their agents (well maybe Mike should be commended for this one)

Doug Gilmour: Sleeping with the babysitter.

Or maybe it's just a fact that there are losers in every demographic and financial state.

 

[DaveyCrockett]

Almost 2 years later and your still complaining about Mike Modano and his financial state.

Comon, the man just wants to be able to feed his poodle! What the hell is wrong with that?

 

[PecaFan]

What it shows is that several owners throughout history of the league have shown to be less than honest when it comes to money matters, if they think they can line their pockets a bit more. And that resulting distrust by the players should be understood and even expected.

I think what it shows is:

1) Disproves the myth of "owners can easily hide money". No, they can't. If they try, they end up in jail.

2) Shows that the NHL is on much shakier ground than thought. Time keeps showing that many of these franchises (LA, Buf, Ott etc) are built on foundations of a house of cards, an illusion of solidity. In reality, they're being supported by outside money, propped up, or a facade.

 

[Sammy*]

Let's not forget:

Bryan Fogarty: All players are prone to break into high schools in the middle of the night high as a kite, get naked and pour mazola oil all over themselves.

Kevin Stevens: Players are all crackheads who will get caught smoking crack with hookers even though they may be married.

Mike Danton: All players will one day go cuckoo for cocoa puffs and enlist college students to try and kill their agents (well maybe Mike should be commended for this one)

Doug Gilmour: Sleeping with the babysitter.

Or maybe it's just a fact that there are losers in every demographic and financial state.

Dont forget Probie (coke), Rob Ramage (homicicidal maniac), Glen Anderson (doesnt pay child support)... etc & god knows how many more who I havnt named.

 

[WHARF1940]

Uh, how about John Spano? Nice background check work there Bettman!!!