John Rigas Obituary – Death: Adelphia Communications originator and previous Buffalo Sabers proprietor John Rigas passed on Thursday in Pennsylvania. He was 96. Rigas, a Wellsville local and Army veteran, transformed what was a $300 interest in 1952 into link monster Adelphia Communications Corp., which announced more than 2 million supporters in 1998.

Rigas was loved locally during the 1990s as both a money manager and the proprietor of the Sabers, who made a rush to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final two years after Rigas purchased the group. Yet, Rigas’ heritage was for all time changed by a multibillion-dollar extortion and scheme embarrassment that drove Adelphia to chapter 11 and landed the two Rigas and his child, Timothy, in jail.