Gioiosa Allegedly Discussed Collecting for Rose

A former bodybuilder convicted of cocaine trafficking testified Friday that Thomas Gioiosa discussed the possibility of cashing a winning race track ticket owned by former Cincinnati Red Manager Pete Rose to reduce taxes on the winnings.

Donald Stenger also told a U.S. District jury that he paid Gioiosa, who is on trial on federal drug and tax charges, to make two trips to Florida to pick up cocaine.

Gioiosa once lived with the Rose, who was banned from professional baseball Thursday by Commissioner Bart Giamatti.

Federal prosecutors charge that Gioiosa conspired to distribute cocaine, failed to pay taxes on his drug earnings and tried to defraud the government. The tax charges stem in part from a winning $47,646 pick six ticket at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

Federal prosecutors contend that Rose was the true owner of the winning ticket, but that Gioiosa claimed it on his 1987 tax return to shield Rose from paying taxes on the winnings in his higher tax bracket.

Stenger, who is serving a 10-year sentence for cocaine trafficking and tax evasion, said Gioiosa had told him that Stenger could launder some of his drug profits by claiming winnings from someone else’s race track ticket.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hunt asked Stenger whether he ever discussed Rose’s race track betting with Gioiosa.

“On one occasion there was talk of cashing a ticket and reporting it as his (Gioiosa’s) income,” Stenger said.

“When it was really whose?” Hunt asked.

“Pete Rose’s,” Stenger said.

Hunt and Gioiosa’s defense lawyers declined to say whether they would call Rose to testify.

Chicago radio station WBBM reported that investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI are investigating links between Rose and convicted Chicago bookmaker Dominic Basso.

Rose denied any knowledge of Basso at his news conference Thursday.

The radio station also said Rose could be indicted as early as Wednesday. WBBM quoted unidentified sources close to the investigation as saying the government’s case will include allegations that Rose failed to report $37,000 in income from a baseball card show in which he participated.

A federal grand jury in Cincinnati has been investigating Rose’s tax returns to see if he hid income from gambling and memorabilia sales.