Rose’s Lawyers Ask Giamatti to Postpone Hearing for 30 Days

Pete Rose’s lawyers Friday asked for a 30-day postponement of next Thursday’s hearing before Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti, who is investigating gambling allegations against the Cincinnati manager.

“Late Friday afternoon, the commissioner’s office received from Pete Rose’s counsel a request for a 30-day extension of the hearing date set for May 25,” a spokesman for the commissioner said in New York. “The commissioner will respond on Monday.”

Reuven J. Katz, one of Rose’s lawyers, said the postponement was asked “for purposes to prepare,” adding:

“It’s obvious that originally we got a report and seven volumes. And when we requested additional information, we got 60 additional transcripts and interviews. This is a serious matter and we need to do a thorough job. The request is reasonable and we expect it will be approved. If not, we’ll decide where we go from there.”

One individual familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition he not be identified, said that if Giamatti refused to grant the postponement, Rose’s lawyers might try to block the hearing in court by claiming their client’s rights were being violated in a rush to judgment.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press learned Friday that bodybuilder Paul Janszen, now serving a six-month sentence on tax and drug-trafficking charges, passed a polygraph test based on claims he ran bets on behalf of Rose.

The lie-detector test, administered under the direction of investigators for Giamatti but not admissible in court, was given over two days by Richard O. Arthur, who operates a polygraph center in New York. Each test lasted two to three hours.

The test apparently was one of the final steps in the investigation by Washington lawyer John M. Dowd, who forwarded a 225-page report to Giamatti on May 9.