Rose Guilty Plea Expected on Tax Charges

Pete Rose has agreed to plead guilty to failing to report income in exchange for avoiding harsher felony charges as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors to be announced Friday, a source told the Associated Press today.

There was no deal on a possible jail sentence for the former Cincinnati Reds manager, who was banished from baseball last summer for gambling.

Rose, however, would have to pay several hundred thousand dollars in back taxes as part of the agreement, the wire service learned.

Rose is expected to appear Friday morning before U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel, who can either accept or reject the arrangement.

“There’s been some documents filed. They’ve been sealed. Any comments I could make would be inappropriate,” Assistant U.S. Atty. William Hunt said. “I would anticipate that they will be unsealed tomorrow.”

The charge of failing to report income will be brought against Rose in the form of an information, which is filed by a federal prosecutor rather than through a grand jury, the source said.

A federal grand jury in Cincinnati began investigating Rose’s taxes last May. It wrapped up its investigation earlier this year and Rose entered the agreement with prosecutors, allowing him to avoid indictment, the source.

As part of the agreement, the government won’t press additional tax charges against Rose, according to the source.

In an interview last November, Rose admitted he never reported his race track winnings, as required by law. The grand jury also looked into whether he claimed all his income from memorabilia sales and autograph appearances.

“Something is going to happen tomorrow in Cincinnati. It just wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment further,” said Robert A. Pitcairn Jr., one of Rose’s lawyers.

Hunt said U.S. Atty. D. Michael Crites will hold a news conference after Friday’s hearing. Crites is in Washington today and unreachable for comment.

Hunt said the order sealing the documents was signed by U.S. District Judge Carl B. Rubin while he was still serving as chief judge of the Southern federal district of Ohio. Rubin stepped down as chief judge March 15.