In this Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013 photo, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford watches the Buffalo Bills play the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, in Toronto. Saying he’s a big Washington Redskins fan and will “go on any radio,” scandal-plagued Ford has agreed to appear on a Washington-based sports talk show to make NFL picks. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Mark Blinch)
TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied allegations in newly released court documents that he offered $5,000 and a car to suspected drug dealers in exchange for a video that appears to show him smoking crack.
The mayor addressed the issue during an appearance Thursday on a Washington-based sports talk show to make NFL picks on WJFK-FM.
“Number one that’s an outright lie and number two you can talk to my lawyers about it, but I’m here to talk about football guys,” Ford said.
The mayor of Canada’s largest city has been enveloped in scandal since news reports of the video first emerged in May. Ford at first denied the existence of the video. When Toronto police announced in October they had obtained a copy, Ford admitted he had smoked crack in a “drunken stupor” probably a year ago.
The court documents released Wednesday detail police wiretaps of alleged gang members who spoke about delivering drugs to the mayor and having pictures of him using drugs. One suspect is heard telling another that he rejected the offer for the video and planned to meet the mayor and ask for “150,” meaning $150,000.
The wiretaps are evidence in the case against Ford’s friend Alexander Lisi, who faces trial on drug and extortion charges. The mayor has not been charged.
Ford has refused to resign, despite mounting pressure after a string of incidents that have embarrassed Canadians, from public drunkenness to appearing in another video that showed him threatening “murder” in an incoherent rant. Toronto’s city council has stripped him of most of his powers.
Toronto Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, who has assumed many of Ford’s powers, said he is “numb” to the new allegations in the court documents. Kelly repeated that Ford should seek help and take a leave of absence. Given that Ford has lost many of his powers, the latest allegations should have no impact on the running of the city, he said.
On one wiretap on April 20, an alleged gang member is heard saying, “Rob Ford was smoking his rocks today” and that he would post a picture on Instagram. On another wiretap, one man says he has many pictures of Ford “doing the hezza,” which police say is known to be slang for heroin. Another man suggests those pictures would be worth a lot, the document says.
The court documents also say police heard on the wiretaps that Ford had his phone stolen or lost it at a home they believe to be a crack house and that Lisi was trying to get it back.
Police say they overheard that Lisi threatened to “put the heat on” the gang if he didn’t get Ford’s phone back and that the alleged gang members said they would not tolerate Lisi’s threats because they had a picture of Ford “on a pipe,” which police believed meant a crack pipe. Police say Lisi gave the men marijuana in exchange for the return of the mayor’s phone.
Dennis Morris, Ford’s lawyer, told The Associated Press the wiretaps are snippets of alleged gangsters who are talking among themselves and said there’s nothing to address.
Police were in the midst of a drug and weapons investigation involving alleged members of the Dixon Bloods gang when the mayor’s name surfaced on wiretaps in March and April. Police didn’t open an investigation into Ford and Lisi until May, when U.S. website Gawker and the Toronto Star reported that alleged drug dealers were shopping around the crack video.
Ford, an avid football fan, appeared on the Washington radio show “The Sports Junkies” for more than 20 minutes and said he would appear regularly. The mayor made NFL picks and was asked by a host if it upsets him when women win his weekly pool.
“A lot of women up here in Toronto win all the time. They pick who the cutest guy is and that’s how they pick them,” Ford said.
