Rose Reacts to Latest Allegations

It was the 26th day of the siege of Pete Rose. It was also his 48th birthday.

It was an unusual day because Rose had chosen to talk freely about matters pertaining to ongoing investigations into his alleged widespread involvement in gambling.

It was 2 1/2 hours before the team he manages, the Cincinnati Reds, opened a three-game series Friday night against the Padres, the team against which he broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hit record four years ago.

Rose addressed the latest allegations against him. The Dayton Daily News reported Friday that Rose allowed a Montreal man, linked to gambling in Canada, access to the Reds’ clubhouse during spring training last month in Plant City, Fla. The man’s name is Rene Longpre, and he’s the manager of the Manoir Lemoyne Hotel, where Rose stayed in 1984 during his one season with the Expos.

Rules issued by the commissioner’s office prohibit anyone not connected with baseball or the media from being in the locker room.

Another man, convicted Massachusetts bookmaker Joseph Cambra, is alleged to have gotten a favorable room rate at the Reds’ headquarters hotel in Plant City during the period March 18-26.

The commissioner’s investigation into Rose’s alleged gambling activities was reported March 20.

“I can’t think of anything wrong with giving a guy a room who’s a Reds’ fan,” Rose said. “Especially when it’s the only damn hotel in town. I can’t understand what’s so important about it.”

Rose is angry because Sports Illustrated has reported that Longpre placed bets for Rose with Montreal bookmakers on basketball and hockey games. He says he has talked with Longpre about the article and Longpre is more upset than he is.

“He (Longpre) told me he never expected to have his name in Sports Illustrated and that they (the magazine) wrote just the opposite of what he told them.”

Contacted by phone, Sports Illustrated senior editor Sandy Padwe said, “We stand by our story.”

Wednesday, the Boston Herald and the Providence Journal-Bulletin both reported that Cambra was found in possession of a $27,000 check from Rose during a 1984 gambling raid. Both papers also reported that Cambra received Rose’s 1975 World Series ring as payment for a gambling debt.

Rose, on the check: “If they get a copy of it and show it to me, I might be able to explain it.”

A spokesman for the Bristol County (Mass.) district attorney’s office subsequently said there was no apparent link between the check from Rose and the raid.

Rose, on the ring: “It was a duplicate copy. He (Cambra) paid me $3,150 for it.”

But Rose doesn’t deny his relationship with either man.

“Longpre has stayed at my house,” he said.

These are his friends. And as the volume of evidence surrounding the gambling and other charges grows around him, Rose is angry that his friends are becoming more and more involved.

Sports Illustrated, which has vigorously pursued the Rose story, is suddenly Rose’s special target.

“You can pop anybody out of the woodwork,” he said. “You never know what Sports Illustrated will come up with. They might come up with a friend of mine that I sat behind in high school and say he was a homosexual.”

Responded Padwe: “Sports Illustrated is not concerned with sensationalism. It is concerned with factual journalism.”

The magazine isn’t the only reason Rose is under siege. The commissioner’s investigation continues. Rose has hired three attorneys to represent him. “Three of the best,” Rose said.

But in addition, there is also an Internal Revenue Service investigation into allegations that Rose gambled illegally and was guilty of tax evasion. The FBI is also investigating Rose’s alleged gambling activities.