Bernie Madoff, the mastermind behind the world's largest ever Ponzi scheme, arrived at a federal prison in North Carolina to begin serving his 150 year prison sentence.

It will be hard to find anyone sympathetic to the 71 year old investor who will be spending the rest of his life behind bars. We still do not know if Madoff will serve out all of his time at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, but for now that is where he can call home.

We recently presented a look at some of the most notorious financial felons of contemporary times.

Since then, news has included the indictment of Mark Cuban for insider trading in a case that is somewhat reminiscent of Martha Stewart's case. According to the SEC, the billionaire entrepreneur asked his broker to sell all his shares of Mamma.com after the company's CEO confidentially told him of an impending stock offering that would dilute the value of all existing shares. By selling before the information became public, Cuban is said to have sidestepped losses of more than $750,000. Cuban insists, though, that no agreement existed to keep the information confidential.

And then there was the indictment in Texas of Vice President Dick Cheney, along with former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others. There seems to be a conflict of interest between the vice president's influence on the federal agency that oversees federal immigration detention centers and his substantial holdings in Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies. But does the lame-duck county district attorney, who was a no-show in court, have the authority to bring charges against federal officials with regard to federally run institutions?

This post is part of a feature in which he wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

John Rigas used Adelphia, which at one time was the fifth largest broadcasting and cable TV company, as his personal piggy bank, ultimately driving the company into bankruptcy. He founded the company with his son, Timothy Rigas, who was also charged in the scheme. The Rigases stole $100 million from the company so they could buy luxurious personal residences, trips, and other items to enable them to live a life of luxury on the purse strings of the shareholders.

In 2004, John and Timothy Rigas were found guilty of concealing $2.3 billion in loans, which were hidden in small companies left off Adelphia's books. The SEC charged them with hiding that debt and inflating Adelphia's earnings to meet Wall Street expectations between 1998 and 2002. They also were charged with falsifying company statistics and concealing blatant self-dealing with members of the Rigas family, which had a controlling interest in Adelphia. In 2005, John Rigas was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Timothy Rigas was sentenced to 20 years. At the time of the sentencing John Rigas was 80 years old and Timothy Rigas was 49 years old.

This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

I can't say I had much personal experience with Adelphia, which was the fifth largest cable company in the country when it filed for bankruptcy in 2002. But I did follow the case of the Rigas' family with interest. Dad and founder John and son Timothy Rigas ended up going to jail after treating this huge public company like their own personal candy store.

Founded in 1952 in Coudersport, Penn., Adelphia's name came from the Greek word for brother. The company went public in 1986 and grew by acquisition -- buying up smaller cable providers.

The company went bankrupt in 2002 after disclosing $2.3 billion in debt that was kept off the balance sheet. Federal prosecutors charged the Rigases and other officers of looting the company of an estimated $100 million, much of it spent on ridiculous excess -- like spending $6,000 to have Christmas trees flown in to New York.

Both Rigas men were found guilty and in 2007 started serving time in a Federal prison in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) bought up Adelphia's cable business in 2006, splitting up the customers by region.

Let us know in the comments what you miss about Adelphia. And be sure to check out other Companies That Have Vanished.

Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO) Chief Executive Raymond McDaniel Jr. made a stunning admission at the World Economic Forum in Davos about the subprime mortgage crisis: "In hindsight, it is pretty clear that there was a failure in some key assumptions that were supporting our analytics and our models."

In other words, people lied to us because the 'information quality" the ratings agency got was lacking in "completeness and veracity," as Floyd Norris notes in the New York Times.

Come to think of it, this has a familiar ring to it. Back in 2002, Moody's and S&P whined to Congress about how they missed the implosion of Enron. Those meanies at Adelphia also bamboozled Moody's.

Question: Aren't Moody's and S&P paid a lot of money to check the "completeness and veracity" of the information people tell it so it can rate stuff?

For all of you who were negatively affected one way or another from the Adelphia shenanigans back in the early part of this decade, justice is finally being served by the two ring leaders in the Adelphia fraud case, John and Timothy Rigas.

John Rigas, aged 82, and his son Timothy Rigas, 51, were convicted on numerous charges of securities and bank fraud back in 2004, but have spent the past few years free as they have tried to drag on their appeals case. Luckily, these two corrupt executives were finally forced to face the music, and were admitted to a low security jail in North Carolina this morning.

In case you forget the details of this case, let's quickly summarize. Adelphia led its employees and investors to believe that all was well with the telecommunication giant until heads turned at a "little" footnote that the company attached to a press release sent out in 2001. The "little" footnote was the company's way of disclosing the fact that it had accumulated billions of dollars of liabilities that it had not previously decided to disclose.

These liabilities turned out to be serious amounts of assets that were mis-used as family resources. The total unreported liabilities added up to slightly under $2.3 billion. Just a little omission, I'm sure investors and employees can forgive a little omission of $2.3 billion in liabilities.

John Rigas has been sentenced to serve 15 years behind bars, and Timothy is set to serve 20 years for his part in the fraud. Both are hoping to get new trials, and even wish to have their case taken straight to the Supreme Court.

If you went from summer 2006 into early 2007 in Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX), you got to see one hell of a ride for an already-established media behemoth.

You got to see AOL transition from paid and private into a service that was free and open. It even got to keep many of its U.S. dial-up paid subscribers, while it sold off all of its international operations in Europe. You got to finally see Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) become its own tracking stock after the Adelphia bankruptcy asset acquisitions between it and Comcast Corp. (NYSE: CMCSA). It even got to punt some of its unwanted magazine units. The last issue that was a huge boom for shareholders was the ongoing stock repurchase program that was pressed for by legendary corporate raider Carl Icahn.

After the first of the year, Time Warner shares hit $23, but that hasn't been seen since then. In fact, over the last 90-days, shares have been essentially stuck in a range of $20.50 on the low-end and under $22 on the high-end. What gives?

Did the value of a cable subscriber just double? Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is saying so, or at least that's what the price indicates in its acquisition this morning of private Patriot Media and Communications.. This is going to get a little complicated because of a fresh venture split yesterday. Another wrench in the machine is that Comcast and Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) recently divvied up the respective Adelphia subscribers.

In Comcast's purchase this morning, the company is paying $483 Million in a cash investment for the cable systems owned and operated by Patriot. This is said to serve 81,000 video subscribers. That comes out to $5,963.00 per subscriber. There have to be some considerations that are not disclosed, because that is nearly double the "per subscriber value" elsewhere. Yes there are the upsells and the like, but that is already assumed in the stated value of subscribers in other systems as well.

Comcast has an $80.5 Billion market cap and lists 24.2 million raw cable subscribers. That is $3,326.44 per raw subscriber on its own. Time Warner Cable is worth roughly $36.3 Billion, and with 13.4 million basic subscribers that translates to $2,709.00 per subscriber.

There is the fact that there is no debt being included, but cable companies would love to be able to see raw valuations close to that level. Go look at your cable bill and divide the $5,963.00 by your monthly amount and that will give you a "number of months where revenues equals purchase price." They must either feel they are getting some brand new systems that are very close on a micro-geographic base that can take away subscribers or add a bunch of new not-yet on subscribers. Yes, these are in contiguous areas in New Jersey, but it is still much higher than other deals on an "all things equal" basis.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Ted Allrich is the founder of The Online Investor and author of the just released book: Comfort Zone Investing: Build Wealth And Sleep Well At Night. In this weekly column, he'll offer advice to investors who are just getting started.

Rule no. 1: Always buy stocks with earnings. Earnings are what investors get to keep. The more earnings a stock has, the higher the price will go. Don't buy hope or future earnings. Buy earnings that are happening now, especially the ones that are increasing every year.

Rule no. 2: Always do your research. Don't buy a tip just because a talking (or screaming) head says a stock is good. It might be good for them but not for you. Since no one will tell you when to sell, if you don't do your homework, you can't know when the stock is overvalued and should be sold. It may be overvalued when you buy it. You won't know if you don't do your homework. And you won't know if it's the right type of stock for you. For example, if you're looking for a dividend and the stock is in the early stages of biotech, then it's definitely not for you. Do your research well and know what you own. Then you'll know when a stock is cheap or rich, when to buy or when to sell.

Rule no. 3: Always follow your stocks. You can't just buy and hold anymore. While you should be a reluctant seller because you've done your research and bought strong stocks, things change, things like management, competitive environment, economic conditions, etc. Nothing stays the same, ever. Sometimes the evolution works in your favor. Sometimes it doesn't. The best companies evolve ahead of change. Look at Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as an example of a company that is changing dramatically, even its the name (now it's just Apple, Inc., not Apple Computer). Don't sit and hope for the best. Follow your stocks and the financial news. Use your TV computer, newspapers, magazines. News is everywhere, not in one medium.

The online service DealBook, a part of online operations of the New York Times, is stating that the Adelphia dissenting creditor group might just tie up the launch of Time Warner Cable (TWC-TWCAV) until MARCH. The analyst also points out that this could delay things enough that the company would pursue a traditional IPO of the tracking stock if this lasts too long.

It comments that Bear Stearns's analyst Spencer Wang brought this time frame to light, so we'll see if that is the case. The real issue here is that a small group has essentially locked down the entire move, and this is one of the key parts to Time Warner's ongoing restructuring. If the March time frame is real, it will potentially put a lid on the Time Warner recovery for another month.

Time Warner Cable shares have been trading on a when-issued basis under the TWCAV ticker on the pink sheets. This is what has been a thorn in the side of Time Warner (TWX) holders for the last two weeks and this is also what is keeping TWCAV shares on the pink sheets. If this lasts for too long it is going to likely add more pressure to the when-issued shares of TWCAV because most don't know how to trade pink sheet stocks and many couldn't invest in them if they wanted to.

Time Warner has an implied market cap of $88 billion at $22.05, so this dissenting group sure has a lot of assets in several moving parts tied up here. Because of the approval from the majority of parties involved, it is very surprising that the judge in the case has allowed this much to be tied up over what may end up being a small amount on a relative basis. That's part of the reason there are unknown risks in investing.

While there was a very short period of time that the remaining shell of the Adelphia (ADELQ) shares popped last week on hopes of some added value, these 'ADELQ' are still at about a 98% chance of disappearing to a value of zero. If those ADELQ shareholders will ask the transfer agent to issue shares in 100 share certificates, then at least they can be used for wallpaper.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) has re-issued its earnings release date and it is still Wednesday, January 31, 2007. Here is the link to the prior story previewing earnings.

Nothing has changed as far as estimates, but what has put a thorn in the sides of shareholders is the delay of Time Warner Cable. The stock still has the when-issued status and the "TWCAV" ticker on the pink sheets. Go ask people on Main Street if they have ever traded a when-issued or pink sheet stock, and most of them will say, "Huh?" or "A what?"

This delay is likely not going to yield excessive wins for the dissenting Adelphia creditors. The dissenting group is dead and doesn't realize it. It is sad and their plight is understandable, but the hard reality is that this is just delaying the inevitable.

So why does this matter ahead of earnings? Because it increases costs and makes it harder to make predictions and assumptions for about 15% of the newly combined cable operations.

So, we are closer to the Time Warner Cable stock trading as its own quasi-entity in what often used to be referred to as a tracking stock of parent company Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX). We know that last week's approval of the Adelphia terms cleared the way. The stock will trade under the ticker "TWC" on NYSE.

But here's something you may not know: as of Friday Time Warner Cable is already trading on a "when issued basis" as an over-the-counter Pink Sheet stock. Its ticker on OTC is "TWCAV."

It traded roughly as high as $43 on Friday, but appears to have closed at $41.25. On Monday it traded down 1% at $40.75. These "when-issued" stocks often trade with much more volatility than the underlying shares. Volume and accurate price quotes can be sporadic at best.

It doesn't help that 90% of the public never even knows how to look up or track these types of shares on a when-issued basis. While no stock broker would admit it, most brokers don't know how to track them or trade them either.

Here's some help: This is your quote on it from AOL Money & Finance under the TWCAV ticker. You can expect that the stock will probably begin trading normally late next week if not sooner, although don't blame the messenger if any unexpected delays come into play. This can also create some extra whipping around of the underlying shares as funds try to create arbitrage or hedging transactions -- although that has yet to be seen in either TWX shares or the underlying option contracts over the last two trading sessions.

Tomorrow we get the earnings lowdown from Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), and whether you are a bull or bear on TWX, tomorrow's results are going to be much more difficult to evaluate than in prior periods.

The Street expectations are $0.20 on earnings per share (EPS) and revenues of $11.08 billion. That's the official target. But the report may actually look highly different and be even harder to pick apart. It isn't just due to the complex nature of having several entirely different operating units under one stock. If that was the case companies like General Electric (GE), 3M (MMM), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) would be viewed with far more skepticism. No, the reason the report may be so hard to read is that this is the first real quarter to show a myriad of nearly simultaneous corporate changes.

Time Warner integrated Adelphia on the cable side and conducted the Comcast (CMCSA) asset swaps. We even saw the initial S-1 Filing for the mandatory IPO of Time Warner Cable into a public company of its own, and only the Adelphia holders are selling shares. In the last quarter we also saw the company end its ownership in Time Warner Telecom (TWTC) before the end of September. The company is in the process of spinning out its underperforming magazines and that has not yet been reached. It has reached separate agreements to divest all three of its AOL Europe units; and it has begun the long-haul migration of AOL as a closed system reliant on dial-up and broadband subscribers into a free service more reliant on advertising revenues.

We now have some the plans for the Time Warner IPO for Time Warner Cable. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) will sell $100 million shares in stock of Time Warner Cable under the ticker TWC.

Time Warner Cable said that as of June 30, the company's cable systems could reach 26 million U.S. homes. About 85% of its market is concentrated in New York state, North Carolina and South Carolina, Ohio, Southern California and Texas.

Parent Time Warner holds 82.7% of the common and 100% of the Class B shares of Time Warner Cable. Class B shares have 10 votes each.

Adelphia Communications is selling all the shares in the Time Warner Cable offering. This is in-line with the strategy outlined as part of the debt covenants in the terms when it acquired Adelphia.

The only real issue here at first is that a $100 million offering is going to be a much smaller float than there will be demand for the shares. As of 7:30 AM EST there have not been any trade indications seen on TWX shares.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Time Warner Inc. (TWX) plans an IPO of its cable TV unit to follow its court-approved purchase of Adelphia Communication assets, Bloomberg is reporting [via ShanghaiDaily.com -- see also a little write-up in the L.A. Times). Time Warner Cable spokesman Mark Harrad says the company intends to hurry this offering along. It could happen as soon as July 31, but depending on the paperwork, and creditor appeal, could take as long as until the end of 2006 to appear. Time Warner would like to have their ducks in a row by the end of this month however, and then be able to coincide the initial public offering with the closing date of the Adelphia deal.

That would make a tidy little package to announce done and delivered on August 2 when Time Warner holds its Q3 earnings call.