WWW- Actress Peta Wilson has played a beautiful assassin and a vampire, but yesterday’s performance as a government witness in the Adelphia corporate greed trial was no less dramatic.
Wilson, the star of cable’s “La Femme Nikita,” gave the starchy trial a touch of Hollywood glitz as she testified about flying on Adelphia’s corporate jet as a guest of Timothy Rigas, the company’s ex-chief financial officer.
The striking 33-year-old Australian described nine flights on the Adelphia aircraft – all for personal reasons, and all arranged by Rigas.
Timothy Rigas, 47; his brother Michael Rigas, 49, and their 79-year-old father, John Rigas, who founded the cable giant, are accused of looting Adelphia of more than $1 billion and cooking the books to hide the thefts.
Prosecutors have charged that they used company planes as a “personal taxi service.”
In an opening statement, prosecutors told the jury Timothy Rigas used Adelphia’s Gulfstream jet in a bid to woo Wilson.
Apparently it didn’t work.
On cross-examination yesterday, Wilson said she had a boyfriend at the time and that she and Tim Rigas were just friends.
During questioning, defense lawyers also tried to show that Wilson provided a business benefit to Adelphia.
Wilson once flew from St. Bart’s to Buffalo to appear at a hockey game and plug her cable show, which was then on Adelphia’s cable system, according to testimony.