By Erin McClam
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas and his son Timothy were convicted Thursday of conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud for looting the cable company and duping its investors.

The two were convicted of all 15 securities fraud charges against them and other counts following a three-month trial. Another Rigas son, Michael, was acquitted of conspiracy charges in the partial verdict; the jury was undecided on most of the remaining counts against him.

Former Adelphia assistant treasurer Michael Mulcahey was found not guilty of conspiracy and securities fraud.

John Rigas, 79, and Timothy Rigas, 47, each face 30 years in prison on the most serious charge, bank fraud. John Rigas showed no reaction to the verdict, leaning forward in his chair and looking down at the defense table.

Mulcahey, 46, hugged his lawyer and supporters in the courtroom.

The jurors returned the partial verdict after telling the judge they were having trouble reaching a decision on some counts. They had asked for guidance on how to reach a decision without revealing how they were split.

Judge Leonard Sand told them he would accept a partial verdict. It was the eighth day of deliberations.

Sand said he would give further instructions today on the undecided counts against Michael Rigas, 50. He sent jurors home for the day and instructed them not to listen to media coverage of the case.

The Rigases and Mulcahey were charged with hiding $2.3 billion in debt at the cable company, deceiving investors and stealing company cash to line their own pockets.

The verdict was another success in Manhattan for federal prosecutors, who won convictions against Martha Stewart in March and former star technology banker Frank Quattrone in May.

The elder Rigas founded the company in 1952 in tiny Coudersport, Pa., and turned it into one of the nation's largest cable firms. Adelphia has local operations in Delhi Township and Clermont County, as well as many other sections of Ohio.

While most of the alleged fraud took its form in hidden debt, the trial was also notable for examples of the eye-popping personal luxury that has marked other white-collar trials.

Prosecutor Christopher Clark led off his closing argument by saying John Rigas had ordered two Christmas trees flown to New York, at a cost of $6,000, for his daughter.

Rigas also ordered up 17 company cars and the company purchase of 3,600 acres of timberland at a cost of $26 million to preserve the pristine view outside his Coudersport home, in rural, northern Pennsylvania.

Peter Fleming, his lawyer, told the jurors that the claim was ridiculous - "If you saw this on Seinfeld,' you'd double up" - and that the company simply wanted to keep the small town attractive to its employees.

Still, the Adelphia founder stole with such gusto from his company, prosecutors said, that Timothy Rigas became concerned and limited his father to withdrawals of $1 million per month.

The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of two former Adelphia executives, James Brown and Karen Chrosniak, to describe a complex scheme to lie on financial filings and hide Adelphia debt.

But Chrosniak, in tearful testimony, said John Rigas was "basically in the dark" about the company's money problems as its financial filings were being prepared.

Mulcahey was the only defendant to take the witness stand in his own defense, testifying that he answered to the Rigas family when tending the company's books.