Toronto Mayor Rob Ford told senior aides not to worry about a video appearing to show him smoking crack cocaine because he knew where it was, sources told the Star.
Ford then blurted out the address of two 17th-floor units — 1701 and 1703 — at a Dixon Rd. apartment complex, to the shock of staffers at a city hall meeting almost two weeks ago, the sources said.
The mayor cited “our contacts” as the source of his information, according to insiders familiar with the unusual May 17 session in his office.
Staffers were alarmed by the implication of hearing so precise a location, sources said.
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This report is based on accounts given by those privy to what was discussed the day after the Star and the U.S. website Gawker published news of the crack-cocaine video shot on a cellphone.
Ford has called news of the video “false” and said: “I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine. As for a video, I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist.”
Around the table at city hall on May 17 were operations and logistics director David Price, then deputy chief of staff Earl Provost, press secretary George Christopoulos and others. Missing from the meeting was Mark Towhey, then Ford’s chief of staff. Also not in attendance was communications special assistant Isaac Ransom.
Towhey was fired last Thursday after counselling Ford to seek help for his health. Christopoulos and Ransom resigned “on principle” Monday, and Provost is now chief of staff.
The Star sent emails outlining the allegations, complete with a series of questions, to all people named in this report. As of press time, none had responded to requests for interviews.
One of the key questions the Star asked of Ford was how he came to know, the day after the video news broke, of the Dixon Rd. apartment numbers.
The Star has visited the units and been told by neighbours that numerous young men are seen coming and going there at all hours of the night and day. Nobody said they had seen Ford.
In letters to those at Ford’s May 17 meeting, the Star provided the following scenario for comment:
“To all of you who are receiving this letter, please be aware that we are asking these questions in the public interest about a serious matter. We strongly advise you to reach out to us to discuss this story. We want to hear your side of it. Most importantly, if there is anything you believe is not factual, or anything you would like to add, please contact us by this Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Here is what we believe transpired on Friday, May 17, the day the story of the video was published on the front page of the Toronto Star:
During the meeting, when concern was raised about the existence of a video, Mayor Ford told staffers “not to worry” as he knows where the video is.
To the surprise of some present, Mayor Ford then blurts out the Dixon Rd. address, including the two apartment units on the 17th floor, 1701 and 1703.”
There were no replies from any of the Ford officials, including his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, who was not at the meeting.
The Star’s ongoing investigation of the crack video report shows that later in the day, Price — whose duties include making sure the mayor gets to and from home and work safely — approached Towhey with a question.
“Hypothetically,” Price asked Towhey, if someone had told him where the video was, “What would we do?”
The straitlaced former military man told Price that nobody should do anything other than contact police.
At one point, according to an account of the conversation, Towhey was heard to remark, “We’re not getting the f—-ing thing!”
His concern was that, if a video existed, someone could be killed for it.
Price also told Towhey the video may have been the reason that Anthony Smith, a person pictured in a photo with Ford published in the Star on May 17, was killed.
Inquiring further that Friday, Towhey asked Price where he learned the address and apartment numbers. The Star’s research shows that Price replied only “sources” and would not say how he learned the information.
The next day, Towhey gave a statement revealing his concerns to Toronto Police. Price was also interviewed. The Star is trying to determine what, if anything, Price did with the information he received from his “sources.”
Police have assigned two detectives to interview Towhey and carry out an investigation into his allegations.
Several days after these events, early on Tuesday morning at 4:20 a.m., a young man was shot in the leg outside one of the 17th-floor apartments. The Star has looked into this and been told by people in the neighbourhood, and by Toronto Police, that it was an accidental shooting involving people who were drunk and that it is not related to the video.
An editor from Gawker and two Star reporters have viewed the video, which is being offered for sale by drug dealers. The Star journalists described a video showing a rambling and incoherent Ford smoking what appears to be a crack pipe and making homophobic and racially charged statements. The Star reporters were shown the video by a man who said it was shot on an iPhone.
Additional reporting by the Star’s Robyn Doolittle and David Bruser
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