They sure were not hurtin'

John Rigas founded the cable-television company in 1952 with a $300 investment. Hailed as a hero in his hometown of Coudersport, Pa., for supporting various causes, he is now 80 and in ill health.

He was found guilty earlier this year of using complicated cash-management systems to spread money around to various family-owned entities and as a cover for stealing about $100 million, which caused the company to go bankrupt.

Timothy, the son of John Rigas, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, while the elder Rigas was sentenced to 15 years. Although he could die behind bars, his sentence could be cut short if he has served at least two years and his doctors believe he has less than three months to live.

CNN noted that federal prisons, although unpleasant, are much less dangerous places for inmates than the state prisons where the Tyco executives will spending their coming years.

The elder Rigas, along with his wife, Doris, owns a 4,400-square-foot condominium in the Greystone project at Beaver Creek. County assessors estimate its value at $3.8 million. Timothy Rigas, has a 3,000-square-foot condo at One Beaver Creek Condos for which he paid $2.4 million in 1997.

Public records tend to lag sales by about a month, but so far show no sale of the properties purchased by either Kozlowski or the Rigas family.

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