Two Toronto Star reporters have viewed the video three times. So, with permission, I am laying out everything I know about the Rob Ford Crack Tape in the hopes that a) everyone knows that Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, smokes crack, and b) this knowledge might hasten the arrival of the Rob Ford Crack Tape on the internet or broadcast television, because really, it is something to behold. A lawyer retained by Ford, Dennis Morris, said that Thursday evening’s publication by the U.S.-based Gawker website of some details related to the video was “false and defamatory.” Morris told the Star that by viewing any video it is impossible to tell what a person is doing. The Star had no way to verify the authenticity of the video, which appears to clearly show Ford in a well-lit room. What follows is an account based on what both reporters viewed on the video screen. Mayor Ford denies such took place,and if such posting occurs,it is false and defamatory,and you will be held legally accountable.In reference to the photo,you wish to publish, Mayor Ford has his photo taken daily,sometimes with others. He raises a lighter in his hand at several points and moves it in a circle motion beneath the glass bowl of the pipe, then inhales deeply. Both reporters, prior to watching the video, studied numerous city-hall-related videos of Ford and, to the best of the reporter’s abilities, they separately concluded the man in the video was Ford. The tipster was there, but the person who actually had possession of the video was a no-show. As evidence of his claims, our tipster provided the photo above. Asked why they were selling the video, the man said the two who claimed ownership of the video wanted to make a change in their lives and use the money to move out west to Calgary. The Star did not pay money and did not obtain a copy of the video. Over the last month the Star has had several meetings with the man who was acting as a broker, culminating with the May 3 meeting at the Dixon Rd. If I wanted to see the video, I was going to have to go to Toronto. The drive lasted less than five minutes. The man got out of his car and returned with his associate. He pulled out an iPhone — he would not let the reporters hold it. At first he wouldn’t let the sound play, but then relented. Greetings;I am a lawyer,and have been contacted by Mayor Ford's office in reference to your indicating you will post a photo of Mayor Ford smoking crack cocaine. He says something like “Yeah, I take these kids . Update: The Toronto Star, whose reporters have also seen the video, say that it's Justin Trudeau—Pierre's son and the leader of the Liberal Party in Canada—and not Pierre getting called a "faggot." So if Gawker can't come up with enough money to ring this owner's bell, perhaps we can find a partner.
– Just one day after Rob Ford's office confirmed that the former Toronto mayor was in palliative care, his family says Ford has died. He was 46. Ford dropped his 2014 bid for re-election when he was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. In a lengthy obituary, the Star recounts the treatment he undertook in his quest to beat pleomorphic liposarcoma over the course of 18 months, including a May 2015 surgery, chemotherapy, and a clinical trial. It also traces his political career, from his role as a "plain-spoken champion of the little guy, always eager to get a pothole fixed" to his 2010 mayoral win, which ushered in a "wild, scandal-filled term." As mayor, the headlines grew less positive: He was ordered removed from office in November 2012 over an alleged violation of conflict of interest rules (an appeal court overturned it). In May 2013 both the Toronto Star and Gawker said they had viewed a video that showed Ford smoking crack cocaine; that November he admitted that he had smoked the drug and had bought illegal drugs while in office. He was stripped of most of his powers. In October 2014, the father of two had this to say about how he would be recalled: "People know that I saved a lot of money, and people are going to know that I had a few personal struggles. So you can remember it for what you want, but they're definitely going to remember it."