clarinews@clarinet.com (02/02/90)
CINCINNATI (UPI) -- A former close friend of Pete Rose's was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for dealing cocaine and cheating on his taxes. Tommy Gioiosa, 31, of New Bedford, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Spiegel, who denied Gioiosa's request to remain free on bond pending appeal. ``Drug dealers should be dealt with harshly,'' said the judge. However, Gioiosa could have been sentenced up to 28 years in prison and fined $1.5 million. The judge said he imposed no fine because Gioiosa has very little money. Gioiosa, who lived with Rose from 1979 to 1984, refused to cooperate with major league baseball officials last year when they investigated Rose's gambling. That probe led to Rose's banishment from baseball. Gioiosa's tax cheating conviction stemmed from a $47,000 horse race track winning ticket that he allegedly claimed on his taxes to hide the actual ticket owner, Rose. During his trial, Gioiosa testified that bookies paid him 10 percent of Rose's betting losses for directing Rose's gambling their way. The mother of one of Gioiosa's former girlfriends testified that Gioiosa told her he often claimed Rose's race track winnings to shield Rose from paying taxes. ``He commented about a great deal of money that Pete had won and that he (Gioiosa) claimed the winnings to keep Pete from paying taxes,'' testified Shirley Fehrenbach. ``He said he did this almost all the time when they went to the track.'' Gioiosa admitted on the witness stand that he was a cocaine courier for friends, delivering the illegal drug and picking up money for it. ``It didn't matter to me because it wasn't my cocaine,'' testified Gioiosa. ``It was somebody else's cocaine. It was a favor for a friend.'' Gioiosa claimed he was innocent of all charges against him because he used steroids that warped his mind and was therefore not legally responsible for dealing cocaine and cheating on taxes.