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<\/div>\nThe FBI has released 130 pages of documents about Pete Rose, Major League Baseball<\/a>\u2019s all-time hits leader, who was banned from the sport for decades<\/a> because of betting on games.<\/p>\n The documents<\/a>, which are heavily redacted, include allegations from the 1980s that Rose had ties to people involved in illegal gambling and drug trafficking in Ohio.<\/p>\n According to a July 15, 1987 teletype from the FBI\u2019s Cincinnati field office, Franklin police officers alleged that Ronald Peters, owner of Jonathan\u2019s Bar in Franklin, Ohio, \u201cis a major primarily bookmaker, dealing with sport wagering, and a narcotics dealer in the Greater Cincinnati area.\u201d The officers further reported that they had witnessed \u201cprominent sports personalities, Pete Rose, on many occasions entering Peters\u2019s establishment through its private entrance\u201d.<\/p>\n Another source said that Rose wasn\u2019t just a customer but at one point also a silent financial backer. A cooperating defendant told investigators that \u201camong his customers is Cincinnati Reds baseball team manager, Pete Rose,\u201d and that Rose at one point owed Peters \u201c$90,000 in sports wagering losses\u201d.<\/p>\n Agents recorded reports of briefcases \u201chandcuffed to their wrists\u201d being carried into Jonathan\u2019s Bar, with allegations that Peters\u2019 associates escorted \u201cbriefcases of money to and from Jonathan\u2019s Bar\u201d.<\/p>\n One FBI summary stated: \u201cIt is also alleged that Pete Rose was a silent partner in a bar that Peters operated in Cincinnati before he moved to Franklin\u201d.<\/p>\n Not every source connected Rose directly to drug activity. One informant said he thought Peters was a drug dealer but added, \u201che is aware that Peters runs a major sports wagering operation in the Cincinnati-Franklin area\u201d and that a business partnership involving Rose collapsed because \u201cRose\u2019s gambling debts created a financial problem\u201d.<\/p>\n The documents also show that law enforcement was worried local agencies didn\u2019t want to investigate. One FBI report noted \u201cthe Franklin Police Department\u2019s refusal to act on this information\u201d and cited \u201calleged corruption in the Franklin judicial system\u201d as a reason for federal involvement.<\/p>\n The files don\u2019t go as far as proving criminal charges against Rose, who accepted a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball in 1989 for betting on games. He denied for years that he ever bet on baseball, but in 2004 he admitted he had placed wagers while managing the Cincinnati Reds.<\/p>\n Major League Baseball issues policy decision on permanent ineligibility status after death: https:\/\/t.co\/T4EA7Qyi8e<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/7Byd9syrV5<\/a><\/p>\n — MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Earlier this year, MLB ended the long-running controversy by lifting Rose\u2019s ban from the Hall of Fame ballot.<\/p>\n Featured image: Cincinnati Reds \/ Canva<\/em><\/p>\n The post FBI files reveal alleged gambling and narcotics ties involving MLB’s Pete Rose<\/a> appeared first on ReadWrite<\/a>.<\/p>\nPete Rose and bookie accused of illegal dealings<\/span><\/h2>\n
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