Adelphia has never been a customer favorite, with subscribers generally left unimpressed by the service (particularly the customer variety). Analysts have frequently been left gawking at the often confusing business choices made by the Rigas family, who have run the operation from a rural town in Pennsylvania for some time. The family, who's been politely addressed as "eccentric" by the media, found the check due this week, and few friends around willing to pitch in.

Adelphia's powerslide into the basement began with customer service dips nation wide over the past several years, earning them the reputation of being one of the worst providers available. Since the majority of neighborhoods in the U.S. have access to only one provider, some have never known anything but. Some neighborhoods, such as sections of Buffalo, NY and Santa Monica CA, have had better luck than others. But in general, the Adelphia experience for most has been as enjoyable as stubbing your toe repeatedly.

The poor customer service apparently came as a reflection of the management, which analysts persistently addressed with adjectives such as "eccentric" and "misguided". Shareholders progressively agreed, with murmurings over recent months about the Rigas family being pulled from their throne atop the struggling cable giant, and the needs to shift the company to a more contemporary management style, and away from the small town mentality that was the Rigas tradition.

And struggling it is, with their stock being a mirror to this year's final nosedive, which many believe will end in bankruptcy. After watching their spin-off Adelphia Business Solutions file for chapter eleven, it seemed akin to the bump in the night felt by passengers of the Titanic as it brushed against the iceberg. The company's stock found itself hammered earlier this year, with the company at one point losing over $1 billion in equity value in just three trading days, and drops of over thirteen percent in single trading sessions.

To cauterize the wound of a mounting debt load, Adelphia decided it would put almost half of its cable markets on the block, including Florida, southern California, Virginia, and much of the south east. The 8 billion dollar price tag for these markets, it was hoped, could at least keep the company moving laterally.

But again, the stock wasn't helped by the management of Adelphia, who found themselves in the middle of a developing scandal, with the family's personal and business dealings apparently crossing back and forth on a whim, disregarding legal process. During an audit, Deloitte & Touche LLP found several discrepancies in the company's financial records, pointing to the possibility that the family had used company funds to build a private golf course. One could almost hear the audible creak of Uncle Sam slowly turning his head toward the struggling company.

Many investors began to raise their eyebrows and were startled to find, in a footnote in a financial report, that the company had guaranteed as much as $2.7 billion in loans to Highland Holdings, a business run solely by the Rigas family. For some the idea that the family could be involved in financial misdeeds was a tough to swallow, this was after all the same CEO who refused to allow the highly profitable inclusion of porn channels on his cable system. The more the company struggled however, the less faith the shareholders held on to.

And this week, as if in preparation for the coming storm, the Adelphia family roused itself from an apparent media slumber to find time to resign their positions and announce a "shift in direction" for the company, with the resignation of CEO John Rigas, CEO of Adelphia. Timothy Rigas, the Adelphia CFO and prodigal son, also announced his resignation from the company. Both still remain on the board, but over the next few weeks that may not be the case with an investigation into the company's finances centered squarely around family misconduct.

The story gets no better with this morning's developments, unfortunately for the Rigas's, with the announcement of grand juries in the Southern District of New York and the Middle District of Pennsylvania launching investigations into some of the companies behavior. Add to this the announcement that the company has missed missed interest payment on notes and dividend payment on preferred shares, and you've officially got a sinking ship.

Analysts believe the moves are indicative of a company positioning itself for bankruptcy: "Today’s announcement confirms everyone’s worst fears," said the head of one brokerage house that trades Adelphia bonds. "It looks like the whole thing is unraveling. Their actions and disclosure are indicative of a company that plans to file for bankruptcy." It doesn't take a bond trader to predict that we have quite a show in store. If you're in the mood to impress your non-technical friends with Nostradamus style premonition this weekend, throw out a prediction for an Adelphia bankruptcy and increased justice department scrutiny. You'll be the life of the party.