BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Marge Schott

Major League Baseball is reviewing Marge Schott again in a case that may have ramifications on her ownership of the Cincinnati Reds.

The Enquirer has learned that Schott, the Reds' suspended CEO and president, will be on the agenda of MLB's executive council when it convenes at next month's owners' meeting in Phoenix to discuss her dealings with General Motors.

Sources say Schott does not have to attend the session at the Jan. 13-15 meetings. But she has been invited to meet with the council that has twice suspended her from running the Reds for making insensitive remarks. The week after she appeared before the council in June 1996, she was suspended until Nov. 1, 1998.

It has been nearly a year since The Enquirer reported a complaint to the Ohio Motor Vehicle Dealers Board in which GM accused Schott of faking the retail sales of 57 cars at the Chevrolet-GEO dealership she owned in Montgomery.

GM has dropped the case, and Schott has sold the dealership. But baseball has continued to investigate. The names of seven Reds employees were among those GM said Schott falsely claimed bought cars.

Reds Managing Executive John Allen, in charge of the Reds day-to-day operations since her suspension, had no comment Thursday. Allen is on the list GM compiled, along with two former employees and the wife of Reds General Manager Jim Bowden.

Another two-year suspension would prevent Schott from ever regaining control of the Reds. The limited partnership expires Dec. 31, 2000, when legal experts say the Reds have to organize into another corporate structure.

Baseball insiders have speculated that MLB has held off acting on the case so it could be used as leverage in an effort to get Schott to sell the club.

Related stories

BOWDEN, ALLEN DENY SALES CLAIMED BY SCHOTT Jan. 4, 1997
GM'S LIST OF 57 ALLEGEDLY FAKED SALES Jan. 4, 1997
GM SAYS SCHOTT FAKED SALES Dec. 24, 1996

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