Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball back in 1989.  And, for 15 years he maintained his innocence.

Then, in 2004, Rose finally admitted he was lying.  In a book, he admitted betting on baseball, but never against the Reds and never while he was still playing.

And, now, it appears that statement was a lie as well.

ESPN's Outside the Lines reports Rose did, indeed bet on baseball games and indeed, did bet on the Reds while he was still playing the game as a player-manager in 1986.

(The entire story, complete with photos of bets allegedly made by Rose, can be found here.

The report cites copies of pages from a notebook seized from Michael Bertolini back in 1989 as part of a mail fraud investigation.  The raid occurred a couple of months after Rose was permanently banned. The notebook has been under court ordered seal for 26 years.

John Dowd, the former federal prosecutor who led the MLB investigation into Rose, Dowd said he and his team had sworn statements that Rose had bet on baseball while he was playing, but no written proof.

Back in March, Rose formally applied to new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for reinstatement to the game.  As recently as April, Rose maintained he never bet on baseball and never bet on Reds games while he was still playing.

Dowd says the new information supports the belief Rose was involved with Mob-connected bookmakers.

 

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