BREAKING: New bombshell: Pete Rose accused of statutory rape; hit king denies claim!

Pete Rose bet on his own team?

That's nothing compared to a new bombshell that, if true, could end any talk of Major League Baseball's hit king having his lifetime ban lifted.

John Dowd, the investigator whose findings led to Rose's ban in 1989 by former MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti, claims he was told by former Rose associate Michael Bertolini that Rose committed statutory rape on young girls during his playing and/or managerial career.

In a July 13 interview with WCHE in West Chester, Pa., that hadn't surfaced until now, the former federal organized crime investigator said, "Michael Bertolini told us that not only did he run bets, but he ran young girls for him down in spring training. Ages 12-14. Isn't that lovely? So that's statutory rape every time you do that."

[link to www.nj.com]