Mayor Rob Ford denies trying to buy drug video

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied allegations in newly released court documents that he offered $5,000 (€3,440) 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 on a Washington DC-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 newly released court documents 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 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. The latest allegations should have no impact on the running of the city, he said.

On one wiretap on Apr 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, said the wiretaps are snippets of alleged gangsters who are talking among themselves and said there’s nothing to address.

Police were investigating alleged members of the Dixon Bloods gang when the mayor’s name surfaced on wiretaps.