Ronald Peters, a man best known as Pete Rose’s former bookie, was found dead in his Franklin, Ohio, apartment last month.
The Warren County Coroner’s Office told the Hamilton Journal-News that Peters, who hasn't been seen since Nov. 8, was found in his bedroom on Nov. 19 during a welfare check by Franklin police, who were called to the apartment building after residents complained of strange odors.
MORE: 25 best players NOT in Baseball Hall of Fame
Police say no signs of foul play were discovered and that an official cause of death is pending until toxicology tests are completed. Peters, who served time for cocaine distribution, was suffering from a number of illnesses since being shot behind his left ear in 2004.
In the 1980s, Peters owned Jonathan’s Cafe, a bar where Rose later admitted to placing bets on the Reds, baseball and other sports with Peters through his associates, Thomas Gioiosa and Paul Janszen.
MORE: Pete Rose is baseball's Charles Barkley now
Peters, Gioiosa, and Janszen were the primary witnesses in the 1989 investigation by baseball lawyer John Dowd which led to baseball's hit king accepting a lifetime ban. Peters told Dowd that he took more than $1 million in bets from Rose during a two-year period.