A second federal witness implicated Pete Rose...

A second federal witness implicated Pete Rose in an alleged tax-fraud scheme involving a winning race track ticket in the trial of former Rose housemate Thomas Gioiosa.

The testimony in the third day of Gioiosa’s trial on cocaine and tax-evasion charges contradicted Rose’s contention that he had nothing to do with the winning race ticket.

Rose has denied any involvement in the winning ticket, and Gioiosa has pleaded not guilty. However, accountant Joseph Mansour testified that Gioiosa told him he was claiming the ticket for Rose.

In another development, Gold Star Chili Inc. and Pete Rose have agreed to suspend the former Cincinnati Red manager’s contract as a spokesman for the restaurant chain.

William K. Stock, chief executive of Gold Star, said in a prepared statement, “The attention given recent events has so overshadowed our working relationship with Pete that even routine promotional activities have been compromised and a temporary hold seems prudent.”