Toronto's troubled Mayor has apparently been filmed once again with a crack pipe in hand, and will now take a leave of absence from his duties.
The video, obtained by The Globe and Mail, was secretly recorded in his sister Kathy’s basement, as recently as Saturday. Ford is holding what appears to be a crackpipe, and he takes a hit of an unknown drug.
And further embarrassment for the Mayor comes in the form of a separate "raunchy" audio recording purportedly of the Mayor making suggestive comments about about Councillor Karen Stintz. “I’d like to fucking jam her, but she doesn’t want … I can’t talk like this … I’m so sorry," he said.
Rob Ford has apparently been filmed once again with a crackpipe
The recording captured several aggressive statements allegedly made by Ford. "Give me a shot right now or I'll fucking break your legs. I want another one," and "If you don't give me a shot I'm going to knock your fucking teeth out," he is heard saying.
The Toronto Star has also published a tale of the Mayor doing lines of cocaine at Muzik, an exclusive Toronto club.
In March, Ford was reported to have had an exchange with Bieber in the club, with the pop star jokingly asking the Mayor if he had any crack, upon which Ford took offence andbecame angry , having to be ushered back to his private booth by staff.
Declaring his intention to take a leave of absence, the mayor said he was going through "one of the most difficult times in my life".
"I have a problem with alcohol, and the choices I have made while under the influence. I have tried to deal with these issues by myself over the past year. I know that I need professional help and I am now 100% committed to getting myself right," he said.
"I love the people of Toronto, I love being your mayor and I hope you will continue to stand by me. With the support of my family, friends, professionals and the people of Toronto, I will conquer this."
The American website Gawker reported that a man had tried to sell them the most recent video of the crackpipe for six figures but the website declined to pay.
The Globe did not buy the video either but did pay $10,000 for photo stills from the video.
"The Globe felt it was a matter of public interest, and that readers needed to see what our reporters watched and reported on," said editor in chief David Walmsley .