Prosecutors rested their fraud case Tuesday against four former Adelphia Communications Corp. executives, including founder John Rigas and two of his sons.
The judge presiding in the case also denied motions by all four defense teams to dismiss various counts in the indictment.
"The court is satisfied that the government has satisfied a prima facie case as to each count of the indictment," said U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand.
A lawyer for John Rigas then called the first defense witness: David Acker, chief executive of a hospital in Coudersport, Pa., where Adelphia was formerly based and where the Rigas family continues to reside.
John Rigas, his sons Michael and Timothy and former Adelphia assistant treasurer Michael Mulcahey are on trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on charges of conspiracy and fraud related to an alleged scheme to "loot" Adelphia and deceive investors and the public about the company's finances and operations.
Adelphia, the nation's fifth largest cable company, currently is operating under bankruptcy protection. Its headquarters, formerly in Coudersport, Pa., are now in Greenwood Village, Colo.