Rob Ford Transgressions Thread

[MissTeeks]

They released more of the sealed documents:


http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ford-ma...ents-1.1574667

Mayor Rob Ford may have tried to buy the alleged video of himself smoking crack cocaine two months before news of the video first broke, court documents released today allege.
The information was ordered released by Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer after a court battle between media lawyers and the provincial Crown attorney, as well as lawyers representing Ford friend Alexander Lisi and the accused arrested as part of Project Traveller.
The allegations were laid out in the now notorious Information to Obtain, or ITO, in Lisi's drug-trafficking investigation -- a document drafted by Toronto Police in order to get permission to carry out search warrants. Among the information ordered released by Nordheimer are wiretap summaries from Project Traveller, which began months before news of the Rob Ford video broke.

Wiretaps show that a cell phone belonging to a man named Siyadin Abdi, was used to call Ford's office on March 18, 2013. Interviewed by police at the Toronto East Detention Centre, Abdi wouldn't explain the phone call or even admit to calling the mayor. But nine days later, on March 27, Abdi is heard on a wiretap speaking to Mohamed Siad, one of the men police believe was shopping around the video.
The men "discussed plans to sell the tape," according to the ITO. In doing so, they referred to what police believe was an offer from the mayor.
Abdi allegedly said he was offered "five thousand and a car," adding, "What the f*** is that?," to which Siad allegedly said he would "meet with him and ask for '150,'" believed to be $150,000. Abdi allegedly said the video could be sold to the Toronto Star and a website. News broke in the Star and Gawker in mid-May, after which the mayor denied the video's existence.

Four days later, on May 21, 22-year-old Abdullahi Harun was shot on the 17th floor of 320 Dixon Rd. Harun is alleged in Project Traveller to be a gun-toting cocaine trafficker and the second person police believe was trying to sell the Rob Ford video.
Alleged cocaine trafficker claims he had "so much pictures" of Ford doing drugs
In wiretaps, Harun is heard saying he has "so much pictures of Rob Ford" doing drugs -- specifically, "dugga," believed by police to be marijuana, and "hezza," described on UrbanDictionary.com as slang for heroin. Harun survived the shooting.
According to the ITO, Towhey told police that on May 20 or 21, Price told him "that he felt that the situation with 'the video' would be taken care of 'as they spoke.'" Towhey "became uncomfortable" after hearing of the shooting at 320 Dixon Rd. The scandal stretched on.

[sureLoss]

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hal...lice_told.html

The notorious crack video of Mayor Rob Ford was the motive for the murder of alleged gang member Anthony Smith, Toronto Police were told last May.

Newly released documents reveal this information surfaced in the early days of the scandal in statements to police detectives from Ford’s loyal “logistics director” David Price and former chief of staff Mark Towhey.

In one staggering claim, the police document states:
“Price disclosed that the cell phone containing the recording of interest belonged to the deceased (Anthony Smith) and that it was the motive for his murder,” the police document states, referring to claims Price made on May 17.

Smith, 21, was shot dead on King Street West on March 28, part of a gang dispute.

“Price stated that the male (Smith) died because of the phone,” the police documents state.

Based on newly released wiretap information, police intercepted calls on March 28 that made them dismiss the theory raised by Price.

Whether there is any merit today to this murder case connection and other claims Price and Towhey made in the early days of the scandal is unknown as Toronto police will not talk about their investigation.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

They released more of the sealed documents:


http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ford-ma...ents-1.1574667

In hindsight $5k and a car seems pretty good now compared to death.

[handgroen]

yeah i think things are a little more serious than the old "I have a drinking problem, this is a private matter"
dude is going to jail

[FireFly]

If I was in TO, I would start making t-shirts for tourists that say "I smoked crack with Rob Ford" and use one of the many drunken/high pictures of him with people and photoshop them to have a picture of whoever you want to be in the picture with him. That would be awesome.

[MoneyGuy]

If Ford did go to jail, that might get him off council. In Alberta you're disqualified if you miss meetings for xx consecutive days, unless your council grants you a leave. I don't know what it is in Ontario but I'm sure such a stipulation exists. No way they'd vote to give him the leave.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

If Ford did go to jail, that might get him off council. In Alberta you're disqualified if you miss meetings for xx consecutive days, unless your council grants you a leave. I don't know what it is in Ontario but I'm sure such a stipulation exists. No way they'd vote to give him the leave.

So actually being arrested, convicted and serving time isn't technically enough to get him out of council? What the what?

[octothorp]

Yeah, at this point the scenario where the mayor or someone representing him had somebody shot over the recording doesn't actually seem that outlandish, given the wiretaps. I honestly never thought we'd get to the point where we would have heard this many details about what really happened.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

If Ford did go to jail, that might get him off council. In Alberta you're disqualified if you miss meetings for xx consecutive days, unless your council grants you a leave. I don't know what it is in Ontario but I'm sure such a stipulation exists. No way they'd vote to give him the leave.

Originally Posted by MattyC

So actually being arrested, convicted and serving time isn't technically enough to get him out of council? What the what?

I believe I heard early on that going to jail would be a reason for termination from council. Don't know the actual rules or laws, or if they even exist, but I do believe I remember hearing many times that he (or anyone) could lose their job on council if they were charged with a crime.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by MattyC

So actually being arrested, convicted and serving time isn't technically enough to get him out of council? What the what?

Originally Posted by Daradon

I believe I heard early on that going to jail would be a reason for termination from council. Don't know the actual rules or laws, or if they even exist, but I do believe I remember hearing many times that he (or anyone) could lose their job on council if they were charged with a crime.

In Alberta, it depends on the offense. Some offenses, no. I have no idea what the laws are in Ontario.

Regarding Daradon's last sentence, no way are you disqualified when charged with an offense.

I'd think that if he's jailed, he'd probably be disqualified by provincial law, except for more minor things like contempt of court. If he's jailed for a couple of months or more, his council would turf him, I'm sure, as he'd miss too many meetings and get the boot that way. That's the law in Alberta.

Understand that (again, in Alberta) some infractions, while illegal, do not automatically get you disqualified. For example, if you fail to vote in a meeting in which you're present and eligible to vote, it's a disqualification offense. However, you're not automatically disqualified. A resident (or your council) would have to ask the court to disqualify. I'm sure that would not be an obstacle with Ford as they'd be lining up to ask for his disqualification.

[Daradon]

Yeah, I guess I should have been more specific. I understand not just any offense, and not just charged. I meant serious offenses.

Like you said at the end though, while not automatic, in a situation like this the steps needed for disqualification to be a reality would really just be a forgone conclusion (can't think of the right phraseology, brain fart).

[Senator Clay Davis]

I would love to see his face as he watches the new revelations on TV. Narcissist till the end.

[Daradon]

Yeah his recent appearances at sports events to milk his fame (infamy?) and his recent Fox interview pretty much show he's a egomaniac. Though if it wasn't apparent already, then one is probably not paying attention.

[Ozy_Flame]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12...ng-study-says/

So apparently Rob Ford is the biggest Canadian news export of this century. The breadth of coverage this guy gets is apparently more than any other piece of news.

But I'm not surprised - the American media loves a good story about an overweight conservative, crack-smoking politician with gang ties who steals a musician's seat at an NFL game. Every media outlet from the highly respectable to the bottom-feeding scuzz has loved a good Rob Ford story.

This world has its priorities mixed up. But I guess this makes money for them.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Oh look, another denial as if anyone believes him anymore

“Number one: That’s an outright lie. Number two: You can talk to my lawyers about it,” the Toronto mayor told the hosts of the Washington, D.C. sports radio show, “The Sports Junkies,” over the phone Thursday morning. “I’m here to talk football, guys. If you want to talk about other things then unfortunately, I’m going to have to let you go.”

Ford was on the program to talk NFL picks, but one host repeatedly lobbed him softball political questions, drawing the ire of the mayor, who repeatedly tried to turn the conversation to football.

When the mayor did turn the conversation to football he casually dismissed the NFL’s concussion problem and Native Americans’ problem with the Washington Redskins name.

“It’s been around for years and year and years and if they were offended they should have come out when the name was first initiated,” he said. “How long have the ‘Skins had their name for? Years and years and years and all of a sudden the political correct people are coming out now.”

Ford also said he was a fan of “two-tier” health care.

“I’d be a Republican if I was done in the States. I don’t believe in all this public-funded health care, we can’t afford it,” he said. “If you want health care, you pay for it. It’s going to cost you guys a fortune to put in Obamacare.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12...-outright-lie/

[Daradon]

Allegations of heroin use in some of the new wiretaps released.

Of course the big concern is the murder, which does look like it was tied to the whole video scandal. Which was my biggest concern from the get go (well after the murder anyway) The biggest concern isn't the fact that this guy seems to do a mountain of drugs and be constantly drinking. It's his ties to crime and the fact that he seems to be ready to do anything to keep his neck off the chopping block.

[Daradon]

Interesting legal discussion on CBC now on why Ford was never stopped or searched, especially during the times with envelopes or drops. Obviously I know it has to do with having probable cause with which to get a legal search and arrest, but I think a lot of people are wondering just what it takes and how close it was, because it's seems to be pretty damning in some cases. Turns out, it was very close.

I may get some of my terms mixed up with US legal terms, so I apologize, doing my best to convey complex information here. But the basic idea stands, because most of their information was hearsay (wiretaps being considered hearsay, as they aren't backed up yet with evidence or an admission or willingness to go to court) there wasn't enough evidence to make a search and seizure stand up in court. He said they could have done it, and may have even done it in a case that didn't have such a public figure, but a good lawyer would probably get the investigation and case thrown out because there wasn't enough suspicion yet to do a search. At least according to the charter.

Did admit that police may sometimes pursue a search in investigations like this where the person investigated isn't as public, or wouldn't have the resources to legally fight an 'iffy' search, but in this case, given that it was the mayor, they had to have a stronger case for suspicion given what they knew would happen once the story broke. (EDIT: Obviously don't like that, what is the rule for a rich or public person should be the same for poor unknown person, but we all know the system works like that, just one of the many perks of having money of course. The lawyer did seem to say it probably wouldn't (and shouldn't) happen to others, but it's possible) Apparently there were in some gray areas for sure, and it was close.

Also sounds like, rightly, the police wanted to make sure all their I's were dotted in case it did get big enough to go to court, as they didn't want Ford wriggling out of trouble.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Did admit that police may sometimes pursue a search in investigations like this where the person investigated isn't as public, or wouldn't have the resources to legally fight an 'iffy' search, but in this case, given that it was the mayor, they had to have a stronger case for suspicion given what they knew would happen once the story broke. (EDIT: Obviously don't like that, what is the rule for a rich or public person should be the same for poor unknown person, but we all know the system works like that, just one of the many perks of having money of course. The lawyer did seem to say it probably wouldn't (and shouldn't) happen to others, but it's possible) Apparently there were in some gray areas for sure, and it was close.

Isn't this what public defenders are for?

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Allegations of heroin use in some of the new wiretaps released.

Of course the big concern is the murder, which does look like it was tied to the whole video scandal. Which was my biggest concern from the get go (well after the murder anyway) The biggest concern isn't the fact that this guy seems to do a mountain of drugs and be constantly drinking. It's his ties to crime and the fact that he seems to be ready to do anything to keep his neck off the chopping block.

This is what I have been pondering since the beginning. I've said a couple times in here that I think the reason Ford is trying so hard to stay in power is because once he's out, the people he has these relationships with will not need him anymore. AKA he may be killed, depending on what he actually knows about these people and how high in the organized crime his circle goes.

[Daradon]

^^^ Yeah, I dunno if I would go THAT far. Not saying your wrong, at this point anything is possible, but I wouldn't make that leap personally.

In fact a few lawyers have stated today that the leap that he has any criminal participation in the murder, even if it's nothing direct, is too much of a leap yet as well, and that to me is a more likely possibility. To get where you are would be even one step after that. Again not poo-pooing you, it's an interesting slant, and the story does get bigger every day, but I personally don't see that connection, or the story going that deep yet.

Police did say that the investigation is still open. Right now it appears that the murder occurred because of competing gangs though. Possibly even because the people involved knew of the tape, and put a lot of value to it. But there is no evidence that the Mayor or people acting on his behalf had anything to do with the violence. There is evidence they tried to purchase it though as we all know, so like I said, I could see something there. I will state though, I'm by no means asserting that there is for sure.

I do think it's important though for Rob to address just how much involvement he does have with these gang members and organized crime in general. Of course, we're not going to get anything but denials, and there is really no reason for him to do anything but that, as he'd just get into more trouble by saying anything. But, I think it's a very important detail here, and the level of suspicion, while not enough to hold up in court, or convict the guy in the court of public opinion, should matter to every voter in that region. I wouldn't want an elected official acting on my behalf that has had that level of involvement with known gangs.