Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said he will not resign after police obtained a video of him allegedly smoking from a crack pipe, the Associated Press reported.
This video, which Ford claimed didn't exist until Thursday, is now at the core of a scandal which has been joked and talked about on American late night television shows embarrassing Canada for months, according to the AP. Ford was previously arrested in Miami in 1999 for drunk driving and marijuana possession.
According to the AP, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said the video, recovered after being deleted from a computer hard drive, did not provide grounds to press charges,. Blair added he was "disappointed" because the video "depicts images that are consistent with those previously reported in the press," AP reported.
Ford said he could not defend himself because the case is being investigated by the authorities, but said he has no reason to resign, according to the AP.
The allegations began in May when the press reported Ford had been caught on video puffing from a glass crack pipe, the AP reported. Two Toronto Star reporters claimed they viewed the video, but it has not been released publicly.
Before police officials got a hold of the video, Ford insisted he does not smoke crack and that the video did not exist, the AP reported.
Blair told the AP the video will come out when Ford's friend and driver, Alexander Lisi, goes to trial on previous drug charges. Authorities have not released any information on who the computer, where the video was found, belonged to. Lisi is currently facing extortion charges for trying to get the video back from an unidentified person, the AP reported.
Documents released by prosecutors on the Lisi case on Thursday show police had rummaged through Ford's garbage in search of evidence of drug use, and state family and staff members blamed Lisi for "fueling" Ford's drug addiction, according to the AP.
Surveillance operations monitoring the mayor show Ford receiving a suspicious package from Lisi on several occasions, according to the AP. The documents also show detailed evidence that led to Lisi's arrest on drug and extortion charges.
"As a citizen of Toronto I'm disappointed," Blair said. "This is a traumatic issue for citizens of this city and the reputation of this city."
One of the documents released by the court dated July 13, read "Lisi approached the driver's side of the Mayor's vehicle with a small white gift bag in hand; he then walked around to the passenger side and got on board. After a few minutes Lisi exited the Escalade empty handed and walked back to his Range Rover," according to the AP.
Another document quoted Payman Aboodowleh, a volunteer football coach at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, who co-coached with Ford as he was fulfilling his 50 hours of community service stemming from his guilty plea afer his 1999 arrest.
Aboodowleh told police Lisi met Ford through him and said he was "mad at Lisi because he was fuelling the mayor's drug abuse," according to the AP.
Chris Fickel, a former Ford staffer, said he didn't know where Ford got marijuana from, but told police he has allegedly "heard Lisi is the one providing the mayor with marijuana and possibly cocaine." Fickel added he's never seen Lisi provide the mayor with drugs, the AP reported. The document also states the mayor would call Fickel and tell him to tell Lisi: "I need to see him."
Since being elected mayor of Canada's largest city three years ago, Ford has repeatedly appeared in the news for his "bizarre behavior," the AP reported.
Toronto councilor Paula Fletcher said Ford needs to act "in the best interests of the city," adding that she and all citizens of Toronto are disappointed.
"The mayor has said there wasn't a video," Fletcher said, the AP reported. "He has said there is a conspiracy against him. With Chief's Blair's press conference I think that's put to rest."
