TORONTO — Mayor Rob Ford denied allegations in newly released court documents that he offered $5,000 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 Thursday on a Washington-based sports talk show to make NFL picks.
“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.
Ford has refused to resign, despite mounting pressure after a string of incidents, 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.
Ford, an avid football fan, appeared on WJFK-FM for more than 20 minutes and said he would appear regularly. He was asked if it upsets him when women win his weekly pool.
“A lot of women up here in Toronto win all the time. They pick who the cutest guy is and that’s how they pick them,” Ford said.