John Rigas, CEO and founder of the cable giant Adelphia Communications, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2005 for his role in the multi-billion dollar fraud that brought down the nation’s fifth-largest cable company.

Rigas, who was 80 at the time of the sentencing, had run the company for half a century. His son Timothy, Adelphia’s former chief financial officer, was also convicted in the corporate looting and, at age 49, received an even stiffer sentence: 20 years. Their sentences pale in comparison to what prosecutors had requested: 215 years for each. Both were convicted on 18 felony counts of fraud and conspiracy.

Investors lost billions of dollars when Adelphia collapsed in 2002. In August, Time Warner and Comcast bought Adelphia for $16.9 billion.