Pete Rose’s debts totaled nearly $500,000 when...

Pete Rose’s debts totaled nearly $500,000 when he left the Cincinnati Reds as a player in 1978, and the team’s former general manager said Rose’s “legs may get broken” because of gambling, a newspaper reported.

The Cincinnati Post said that Dick Wagner, the Reds’ former executive vice president, discussed Rose’s alleged gambling at several meetings. Wagner did not comment on the report, but the newspaper said its source was a former team official who had attended the meetings.

“Pete Rose’s legs may get broken when his playing days are over,” Wagner was quoted as saying.

The Dayton Daily News, quoting unidentified sources, also reported that the investigation of Rose had expanded into a multistate probe of sports betting linked to organized crime. It also said investigators were looking into allegations of substantial debts Rose may owe to bookmakers with alleged ties to organized crime.