[JURIST] Michael Rigas, the former executive vice president of Adelphia Communications Corp. [corporate website] and son of founder John Rigas pleaded guilty in Manhattan Wednesday to falsifying a financial record. His plea negates the need for retrial on other charges [JURIST report] of securities and bank fraud. Rigas entered into a plea agreement under which he will receive between six months to a year in prison, with sentencing scheduled for March 3, 2006. The charge normally carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount lost or gained from the crime. In June John Rigas, aged 80, and another son Timothy were sentenced to 15 years and 20 years respectively [JURIST report] after admitting to defrauding the company and hiding more than $2 billion in company debt. The two are currently free pending an appeal on the issue of whether or not the government should have been mandated to call an expert witness on accounting principles. Adelphia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002. AP has more.