It’s been a crazy six months for the fourth largest city in North America as claims of a video showing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack have been reported on by sites like Gawker and the Toronto Star, with an international chorus of media sites joining the choir.
Check Out: The Top 10 Uncanny Resemblances To Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
And with the police now saying they have recovered a video of Rob Ford that is basically “as described” by the media, deck the halls people, it’s going to be an interesting Christmas.
Related: The Look On Reporter Katie Simpson’s Face After Rob Ford’s Vulgar Comments Is Priceless
But why stop at highlighting only this one shining accomplishment by Rob Ford? I previously wrote an article called “60 OTHER THINGS TORONTO MAYOR ROB FORD HAS DONE BESIDES SMOKING CRACK IN A VIDEO” but boy oh boy has that list been added to and brought up to date.
Ladies and gentlemen of my curious readership, let me highlight once again – with a list of 113 things Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has done besides smoke crack in video – just the kind of “crack job” Mr. Ford has been doing for the people of Toronto.
1 | 1987 | Rob Ford is charged with assault during a hockey fight at age 18. |
2 | 2/15/1999 | Ford is arrested in Miami, Florida, for DUI and pleads guilty to failing to provide a breath sample. Ford is also charged with marijuana possession; the charge is later dropped. “The [defendant] approached me and took all of his money and threw it to the ground,” reads the arrest affidavit. “The [defendant] was acting nervous. When the [defendant] spoke to me I could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on this breath. His eyes were blood shot.” Ford denies charges later during his mayoral campaign until presented with evidence. |
3 | 6/13/2001 | Ford questions a grant for a video about homosexuality in Toronto’s South Asian community, telling The National Post: “I have no problem giving money out to physically or mentally handicapped children or seniors, but spending $5,000 on this video is disgusting, it is absolutely disgusting to spend this amount of money on this, whatever it was called, video.” |
4 | 3/6/2002 | During a council budget debate, Ford calls fellow councillor George Mammoliti a “Gino-boy.” |
5 | 4/17/2002 | During a council debate on whether there should be homeless shelters across the city, rather than only downtown, Mr. Ford says: “This is an insult to my constituents to even think about having a homeless shelter in their ward. And you want me to have a public meeting to discuss this? Why don’t we have a public lynching?” |
6 | 6/24/2004 | After reporter John Barber demands “Answer the question, you fat fuck!” in frustration, Ford and councillor Giorgio Mammoliti angrily and repeatedly demand Barber explain why he said this and pursue him when he leaves the council chamber. Ford accuses Barber repeatedly of verbal assault while physically blocking him from getting into an elevator and leaving. Ford eventually chases Barber out of City Hall. Video of the confrontation is widely circulated. |
7 | 6/14/2005 | Ford questions the utility of grant programs for transgendered and transsexual people during a council debate. “I don’t understand. No. 1, I don’t understand a transgender, I don’t understand, is it a guy dressed up like a girl or a girl dressed up like a guy? And we’re funding this for, I don’t know, what does it say here? We’re giving them $3,210?” |
8 | 7/19/2005 | During a council debate over a pothole, Ford calls fellow councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby “a joke. She’s a waste of time. A waste of skin.” |
9 | 4/15/2006 | Security guards remove a drunken and belligerent Ford from a Maple Leafs game. After being asked to be quiet, Ford yells, “You right-wing communist bastards,” and “Who the fuck do you think you are? Are you a fucking teacher? Do you want your little wife to go over to Iran and get raped and shot?” |
10 | 6/28/2006 | Ford declares during a debate on a $1.5 million AIDs prevention program: “If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably. That’s the bottom line…. How are women getting it? Maybe they are sleeping with bisexual men.” |
11 | 3/7/2007 | Ford comments about cyclists: “My heart bleeds for them when I hear someone gets killed, but it’s their own fault at the end of the day.” |
12 | 3/5/2008 | Ford comments about Asians during a holiday shopping debate: “Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out. They are workers non-stop. They sleep beside their machines. That’s why they’re successful in life. I went to Seoul, South Korea, I went to Taipei, Taiwan. I went to Tokyo, Japan. That’s why these people are so hard workers (sic). I’m telling you, the Oriental people, they’re slowly taking over.” |
13 | 3/26/2008 | Ford is charged with assaulting his wife and uttering a death threat. The charges are later dropped because inconsistencies in Renata Ford’s accounts make a conviction unlikely. |
14 | 6/4/2010 | Ford offers to help an ill man “score” the powerful painkiller OxyContin in a taped phone conversation: “I’ll try, buddy, I’ll try. I don’t know this shit, but I’ll fucking try to find it. Why don’t you go on the street and score it? Fuck, you know, I don’t know any drug dealers at all.” |
15 | 7/14/2010 | Toronto District School Board director of education Chris Spence states that Ford was asked to stop coaching high school football after he reportedly had a violent physical confrontation with student player Jonathan Gordon at Newtonbrook Secondary School in 2001. |
16 | 8/12/2010 | City’s integrity commissioner finds Ford had violated council’s code of conduct by using his official letterhead to solicit donations totaling $3150 from lobbyists and corporations for his private charitable organization, the Rob Ford Football Foundation. Council recommends he repay this money at its next meeting on Aug 25. Ford does not do so. |
17 | 8/12/2010 | Ford tells The Toronto Sun that in-camera council meetings have “more corruption and skullduggery going on in there than I’ve ever seen in my life.” He also says council’s decision to award an untendered 20-year contract to a pub operator “stinks to high heaven.” |
18 | 8/17/2010 | Ford argues for a cap on immigration in the city of Toronto: “We can’t even deal with the 2.5 million people in this city. I think it’s more important we take care of the people now before we start bringing in more. There are going to be a million more people—according to the Official Plan, which I did not support—over the next 10 years coming into the city. We’re not in the fiscal shape, we’re not in the social shape, to be taking any more people into this city right now.” Previously, in March 2003, Ford had suggested Toronto be declared a “refugee-free zone.” |
19 | 12/21/2010 | A Toronto Star story shows that Ford and his aides made misleading statements about his academic career implying that he attended Carleton University for three years (dropping out two credits short) and played varsity football for the Carleton Ravens. In fact, he dropped out of Carleton after one year, and former Carleton Ravens players are doubtful that he ever dressed for a game. York University confirms that Ford took six continuing education courses, completing “some, but not all” of the first-year courses. |
20 | 5/13/2011 | Ford is audited for violating election campaign spending rules (improperly paying for his campaign expenses, wrongly borrowing money from his family’s holding company (Doug Ford Holdings), exceeding the campaign spending limit and accepting corporate contributions) |
21 | 6/23/2011 | Ford announces his intention to skip the Pride parade in favour of a Canada Day family weekend at his cottage, becoming the first mayor of the mega-city to miss the event. “We’ve been in Huntsville for the past 30 (years), as long as I can remember, since I’ve been a little boy. I’m carrying on a tradition my father had. Last year I was there during the campaign, we’re there every year,” he claims, although photos later surface of Ford at a Canada Day event in East York in 2010. |
22 | 7/22/2011 | Ford is seen driving while using his cell phone; he makes an obscene gesture at woman and six-year-old daughter after mother tells him to get off his phone |
23 | 10/24/2011 | Ford flees into his house and calls 911 three times after a crew from CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes including Mary Walsh in character as Marg Delahunty approaches him in his driveway. Multiple sources claim Ford verbally abuses the 911 dispatcher, yelling, “You … bitches! Don’t you f—king know? I’m Rob f—king Ford, the mayor of this city!” Ford’s wife, Renata, reportedly places another 911 call at 10:17 the same evening, this time in regard to a verbal altercation between herself and Ford. |
24 | 12/13/2011 | TTC chief general manager Gary Webster reports that cancelling Transit City in favour of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s subway-focused plan will cost $65 million in penalties. |
25 | 12/25/2011 | Ford’s mother-in-law calls 911, claiming that Ford has been drinking and is taking his children to Florida against his wife’s wishes. |
26 | 1/1/2012 | Ford is photographed at the 2012 New Year’s Levee with his arm around Jon Latvis, a member of neo-Nazi band RAHOWA (Racial Holy War), who is attired in the uniform of the Latvian Homeguard. |
27 | 1/11/2012 | Scott MacIntyre, a long-time common-law partner of Ford’s sister, Kathy, is charged with two counts of threatening death, forcible entry and possession of heroin and cocaine after he forces his way into the mayor’s house. MacIntyre is known to police, having been charged with drug- and gun-related offences after a 2005 alternation in which Kathy Ford was shot in the face in her parents’ basement. Court documents later quote MacIntyre as yelling “You owe me money, your sister owes me money, if I don’t get it, they will kill me” at Ford. |
28 | 1/24/2012 | Ford writes a character reference on City of Toronto letterhead vouching for Douglas Sedgewick, a tow truck operator with a serious speeding conviction and other violations, after municipal staff refused to reinstate his licence, deeming him a potential public danger. Sedgewick, who is a convicted murderer, says in an interview later that he regrets asking for the letter, and that it did him “more harm than good” at the tribunal. |
29 | 1/29/2012 | A report by the law firm Cavalluzzo, Hayes, Shilton, McIntyre & Cornish says Ford exceeded his legal authority when he cancelled Transit City without city council approval. |
30 | 2/7/2012 | Council votes to rescind the Aug 25, 2010 recommendation to make Ford repay illegal donations. Rob Ford speaks during the debate on the matter and votes on the relevant motion; it is later alleged he broke the Municipal Conflict-of-Interest Act by doing so. |
31 | 2/8/2012 | Council votes 25-18 for a plan by TTC chair Karen Stintz to resurrect the Transit City light-rail scenario approved by the city, the TTC and the province in 2009 under former mayor David Miller, and killed by Ford shortly after he assumed office. Ford dismisses city council’s will, calling their defeat of his alternative transit plan “irrelevant.” |
32 | 2/21/2012 | While TTC chair Karen Stintz vacations out of town, transit commissioners call a special meeting and vote 5-4 to fire TTC chief general manager Gary Webster two weeks after Webster testifies to council that he cannot justify Ford’s vision of running the entire Eglinton LRT line underground, raising the cost of the line by $2 billion. Webster’s contract stipulates he is to be paid more than $560,000 in salary (plus benefits) over two years, in compensation for being fired without just cause, about $160,000 more than if he had been allowed to work until his planned retirement in July 2013. Frank Di Giorgio, a Ford ally and one of the five voters behind Webster’s firing, suggests that more senior transit managers may lose their jobs for not “respecting the office of the mayor.” |
33 | 3/17/2012 | A St. Patrick’s Day reveller reports seeing Ford “stumbling down the street … inebriated and sweaty but in a jovial way” and tells him “You’re the worst mayor ever.” Ford allegedly walks over, kisses her on the forehead, and responds, “I know, but I try.” Ford then heads into a private room in the Bier Markt on the Esplanade, where a staffer describes him as “incoherent” and “hammered.” The DJ working that night reports Ford is fighting and carrying on “like an idiot.” After “storming the dance floor,” Ford is asked to leave and escorted out by his own staff and members of the restaurant’s security team. |
34 | 4/18/2012 | Ford announces his intention to skip the Pride parade for a second straight year. |
35 | 5/2/2012 | Ford applies to buy a 2,800-square-foot publicly owned parkette adjacent to his house. His stated aim is to build a better fence to ensure his family’s security; his agent says they have no plans to build on the land, though this is contradicted by a interview taped on July 15, 2010 in which Ford declares his intention to tear down his bungalow in a few years and build a “nice” house. |
36 | 5/2/2012 | Ford shouts at, then raises his fist and chases Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale, who is standing on public property, examining the public property Ford is attempting to purchase. Ford succeeds in mugging Dale for his cellphone and tape recorder. |
37 | 5/26/2012 | Documents obtained by the Toronto Star through a freedom of information request suggest Ford is doing less than half the official work than he was doing a year prior; In January 2012, Ford averaged 11 meetings a week compared with 33 in January 2011, his first full month as mayor. In February 2012, he had 15 meetings scheduled each week, compared with an average of 34 a year earlier. According to sources that include former and current staff, Ford often does not leave his home until noon. Some days he never appears in his office. Councillor Adam Vaughan calls Ford “a part-time mayor.” |
38 | 6/6/2012 | Ford asks council to scrap the bylaw forcing retailers to charge five cents for plastic shopping bags. Council does so, but also spites mayor by voting to scrap the bags entirely as of Jan. 1 (a decision that is later overturned). |
39 | 6/18/2012 | Having missed several previous weigh-ins and endured both ridicule from his brother Doug and a viral video showing him being heckled while coming out of a Kentucky Fried Chicket outlet, Ford falls short of his stated goal in his “Cut the Waist” challenge, losing no additional weight in his final weigh-in and then stumbling off the scale and twisting his ankle. |
40 | 6/18/2012 | Around this time, a photograph circulates online of a bleary-eyed and dishevelled Ford posing with a bachelorette party. |
41 | 6/25/2012 | Ford skips a Pride flag raising ceremony on City Hall’s green roof, immediately outside his office. |
42 | 6/27/2012 | Ford has a verbal altercation with a streetcar driver after allegedly driving past the streetcar’s open front doors, an illegal and dangerous act. |
43 | 7/9/2012 | Ford comments on paying for transit expansion: “I cannot support taxing the taxpayer.” |
44 | 8/14/2012 | Photos appear on Twitter showing Ford reading documents while driving on the Gardiner Expressway. Ford admits to reading work documents. |
45 | 8/18/2012 | Ford gets lost while looking for a washroom and blunders into the Calgary Stampeders’ dressing room at halftime. |
46 | 9/5/2012 | During his conflict-of-interest trial related to his participation in a vote that absolved his need to pay back donations that were collected for his private football foundation, Ford admits having never read, in his 10 years as a councilor or his two years as mayor, either a councillor handbook that spells out the rules for declaring conflicts or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act he is accused of breaking. Ford repeatedly insists he is innocent according to his own personal definition of a conflict of interest: “I define a conflict of interest if it’s both financially beneficial to the city and financially beneficial to myself.” |
47 | 9/12/2012 | Reports indicate Ford uses city staff and taxpayer-funded cars and cellphones to assist him in his football coaching duties. |
48 | 9/20/2012 | Ford uses his influence to expedite drainage and road repairs in front of Deco Labels, his family-owned business, in time for its 50th anniversary party. |
49 | 11/1/2012 | Ford skips 2½ hours of a council meeting to coach a semifinal football game. Two TTC buses are then diverted to pick up his football team following a post-game brawl, leaving passengers stranded in the rain in rush hour. Ford places an irate phone call to TTC chief executive officer Andy Byford when the first bus fails to arrive quickly enough. |
50 | 11/13/2012 | Ford stands trial for the Boardwalk Pub libel case. |
51 | 11/13/2012 | A picture of Ford’s Escalade with newly and possibly illegally tinted windows is posted online. |
52 | 11/15/2012 | Ford skips out on his own trial early to coach football. |
53 | 11/20/2012 | Ford stumbles and falls while demonstrating a football play before television cameras; an animated GIF of the incident goes viral. |
54 | 11/26/2012 | Ontario Superior Court Judge Hackland finds that Ford has violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act by participating in the council debate and voting on whether he should repay $3,150 raised after he used official letterhead and other council resources in fund-raising letters for his football foundation and declares the mayor’s seat vacant, the decision to take effect in 14 days. This decision is later reversed on appeal. |
55 | 12/12/2012 | The Gardiner Expressway revealed to be nearly unsafe for use; it turns out a study on what to do about it was shelved two years ago. |
56 | 2/23/2013 | Ford arrives late to the Toronto Garrison Ball, a gala event celebrating the Canadian armed forces, speaking in a rambling, incoherent manner that alarms guests. He is asked to leave because organizers are concerned he is impaired. Ford is being driven in a Range Rover by associate Alessandro “Sandro” Lisi; also in the vehicle is childhood friend Bruno Bellissimo. |
57 | 3/5/2013 | Ford continues to solicit donations to his football foundations from lobbyists nearly immediately after the order that he be removed from office for doing the same is overturned. |
58 | 3/8/2013 | Ford allegedly propositions and gropes former rival mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson. Thomson speculates that his sweaty, fast-talking, out of it, arrogant manner suggests that Ford may have been high on cocaine at the time. |
59 | 3/8/2013 | Ford’s claims that former Don Bosco football players would be dead or in jail without his coaching are disputed by former Don Bosco football players. |
60 | 3/8/2013 | The number of lobbyists registered at City Hall in 2012 is triple the 2010 figure; the number of subjects being pushed has doubled; allegations of misconduct have tripled; daily communications between lobbyists and public office holders have increased tenfold. |
61 | 3/22/2013 | Ford gives a rousing but widely criticized as inappropriate pro-casino speech to an audience of orthodox Jews at a religious event. |
62 | 3/24/2013 | Rob Ford calls into Closing Arguments with Steven Skurka, a legal affairs radio show on Newstalk 1010, to criticize Richard Kachkar’s legal defence in his trial for the first-degree murder of Sgt. Ryan Russell on the night before the jury is set to deliberate. Ford says Kachkar will walk if he’s found to be not criminally responsible. The panelists cut Ford off repeatedly to explain that he won’t. Concerns are raised that Ford’s comments may result in a mistrial. |
63 | 3/25/2013 | Ford arrives unannounced at the Toronto West Detention Centre at around 7 p.m., three hours after official visiting hours, asking for a tour of the jail. After his request is denied, Ford asks to meet with inmate Bruno Bellissimo, a childhood friend with a history of drug-related activity, and this request is also denied. Questions remain about the timing and purpose of Ford’s visit. |
64 | 3/27/2013 | Parents from Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School meet to discuss whether they want Ford to continue coaching football there. |
65 | 4/1/2013 | Ford pretends to vomit when asked at a press conference about the Metrolinx wish list of taxes and tolls to fund transit. |
66 | 4/15/2013 | Ford walks face-first into a television camera. “Ah fuck, man. Holy Christ!” Ford yells, bending over and grabbing his eye. “Holy. Guys have some respect, you just hit me in the face with a camera.” |
67 | 4/21/2013 | Ford offers on his radio show to explain to women how politics work, an offer that many women in Toronto regard as patronizing. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam co-organizes an event to give an explanation of politics from a woman in politics, and offers to explain to Ford how politics work for women. |
68 | 4/27/2013 | Prince Philip visits Toronto to present a new regimental colour to the Third Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. Despite having been recently briefed on all the proper protocols for meeting the Duke of Edinburgh, Ford apparently has more important things to do; a chair reserved for the mayor sits conspicuously empty. |
69 | 5/6/2013 | Maple Leafs great Johnny Bower receives an ovation when he is shown on the Jumbotron at the team’s first playoff home game in nine years. Cheers turn to boos as Ford jumps into the shot for a handshake, and the camera abruptly cuts away. |
70 | 5/8/2013 | According to the Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington, Ford switches up his refreshment from ginger ale to diet cola for Game 4 of the Maple Leafs first-round playoff series. Meanwhile, according to the Toronto Star, Ford and Sandro Lisi disappear together into a small washroom in the director’s lounge during Game 4, with no explanation given when they emerged. |
71 | 5/13/2013 | Ford hires Xhejsi Hasko, one of his former assistant coaches and players at Don Bosco, as a special assistant in the mayor’s office. Hasko is the third former University of Toronto Varsity Blues player Ford has added to the city payroll since becoming mayor; Ford used two other special assistants to help him coach at Don Bosco. |
72 | 5/14/2013 | Minutes after arriving at a community council meeting debating the controversial Humbertown condo proposal, Ford leaves to join David Price, his director of operations and logistics, in wandering around the parking lot and slapping “Rob Ford: Mayor” fridge magnets on cars. Following a citizen complain about a possible bylaw infraction, Ford is investigated by the city’s municipal licensing and standards department and faces a potential $150 fine. |
73 | 5/16/2013 | Gawker publishes a story alleging the existence of a recently taken video of Ford smoking crack cocaine while making homophobic comments and slurs against minorities. Accompanying the Gawker article is a photograph of Ford with his arm around Anthony Smith, who was fatally shot in the head outside a King St. nightclub on March 28; in the same photo and injured in the same shooting is Muhammad Khattak. The Toronto Star runs a front-page story reporting that two of its reporters have also viewed this video. Ford calls the reports “ridiculous.” |
74 | 5/17/2013 | According to the Toronto Star, Ford tells senior aides not to worry about the video showing him smoking crack cocaine, because he knows where it is, specifically citing two 17th floor units at a Dixon Rd. apartment complex. |
75 | 5/18/2013 | According to the Toronto Star, after director of logistics and operations David Price contacts chief of staff Mark Towhey with information about the video alleged to show Ford using crack cocaine, including both its location and that Anthony Smith may have been murdered for its value, Towhey takes this information to police due to concerns that Price is trying to obtain the video. |
76 | 5/20/2013 | Ford associate Sandro Lisi visits the home of Fabio and Elena Basso, also friends of Ford. The bungalow is a known hangout for a group of men from the Dixon Rd. community involved in the crack cocaine trade and is where the photograph of the mayor with the young men was taken. “Where are the guys who made the video, Fab,” Lisi demands. “You know where they are.” |
77 | 5/21/2013 | According to the Toronto Star, a nonfatal shooting takes place in the same apartment complex where the Star viewed the video, the news of which alarms people in the mayor’s office. |
78 | 5/21/2013 | Fabio Basso, his girlfriend, and Fabio’s mother are assaulted by an unknown attacker brandishing an expandable baton who broke into their home. Victims of that attack are taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. |
79 | 5/22/2013 | Ford staffers hand out “Rob Ford: Mayor” promotional magnets at the funeral of Toronto Sun founding editor Peter Worthington. When questioned about the allegations of his drug use by reporters as he exits the funeral, Ford tells them, “Have some respect.” |
80 | 5/22/2013 | Ford is dismissed as head football coach at Don Bosco, reportedly over his comments that his players would be dead or in jail without him. Bruce Rodrigues, the Toronto’s Catholic school board’s director of education, states, “This decision was based on what is best for our students, our school and the Don Bosco community.” This marks the second time Ford has been ousted from a volunteer football coaching position amid controversy. |
81 | 5/23/2013 | Ford fires chief of staff Mark Towhey. In a phone conversation on the evening of May 22, Ford orders Towhey to go to Don Bosco and retrieve football equipment Ford has previously donated to the school. Towhey tells Ford this is a bad idea and repeats advice he has offered several times before: that the mayor go to rehab and deal with his substance-abuse problems. Ford loses his temper and tells Towhey: “If that’s all you’ve got for me, then you might as well leave and don’t come back.” Towhey returns to City Hall the next day, and Ford asks him to help arrange a pizza party for Don Bosco players. Towhey urges him not to drag the players into the situation and suggests that the mayor’s office has more urgent business at hand. A furious Ford fires Towhey again and has him escorted from the building by security. Doug Ford later comes out the front door to address waiting reporters while Rob sneaks out the back door. |
82 | 5/24/2013 | After a week of silence, and only after his executive committee writes an open letter urging the mayor to address the allegations publicly, Ford finally makes a public statement: “I do not use crack cocaine nor am I an addict of crack cocaine. As for a video, I can’t comment on a video I have never seen or does not exist.” Ford takes no follow-up questions, and his choice of words is widely perceived as less than an unequivocable denial that he has ever previously used the drug. |
83 | 5/25/2013 | The Globe and Mail reports that the mayor’s brother and right-hand man, councilor Doug Ford, was a mid-level drug dealer in the 1980s dealing large quantities of hashish. Allegedly also involved in this criminal enterprise was Ford’s former high-school football coach and current director of logistics and operations, David Price. Despite repeated inquiries, Price’s duties remain unclear, as do his qualifications except for—according to Doug Ford—his “loyalty.” |
84 | 5/26/2013 | Ford blasts the media as a “bunch of maggots” during his weekly talk radio show with his brother Doug; he expresses regret immediately afterward and apologizes to reporters the next day. A female caller asks him to explain the photograph of himself with Anthony Smith; Ford explains that he takes photographs with “everybody” and comments “That’s very sad, that she’s a racist,” afterward, referring to the fact that the other men in the photo are all minorities. Ford also finally definitively denies the existence of the video. |
85 | 5/27/2013 | Press secretary George Christopoulos and deputy press secretary Isaac Ransom resign abruptly. Sources say both men resigned on principle because they felt they could not continue in good conscience after Ford’s statement on May 24, which, according to Ford’s former press secretary, Adrienne Batra, was “barely recognizable” compared to a statement his staff had written for him and was written primarily by Ford’s family with only minor staff input. Ford names as new special assistant communications Amin Massoudi, whom former chief of staff Nick Kouvalis reportedly fired from Ford’s campaign in 2010 over a marijuana-possession incident and was then rehired by Ford as a constituency assistant at his council office, infuriating Kouvalis. |
86 | 5/29/2013 | Sources tell the Toronto Star that the phone and e-mail records of Mark Towhey, George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom are in danger after city employees were directed to illegally delete them; other sources say this isn’t true and is in fact impossible. |
87 | 5/30/2013 | Two more Ford staffers resign: Brian Johnston, Ford’s advisor on council relations, and Ford’s executive assistant, Kia Nejatian. |
88 | 5/31/2013 | Special assistant Michael Prempeh resigns. |
89 | 6/2/2013 | Ford announces he will not be attending Pride for a third consecutive year. |
90 | 6/10/2013 | Ford ousts the sole woman on his executive committee, Councillor Jaye Robinson, who had publicly urged Ford to take a leave of absence. |
91 | 6/12/2013 | Ford is spotted studying Ontario Minor Football League standings during an uneventful portion of a city council meeting. |
92 | 6/13/2013 | Police raid addresses in Toronto, Windsor, and Hamilton, including the apartment building where the crack video was allegedly taken and the alleged crack house where Ford was photographed with Anthony Smith, Muhammad Khattak, and Monir Kassim; the latter two are arrested for trafficking offenses. Ford is unaware of the raid until after the fact, and police chief Bill Blair refuses to confirm or deny that Ford is under investigation. |
93 | 6/14/2013 | A letter of support written by Ford is made an exhibit during a sentencing hearing following Sandro Lisi’s conviction for threatening to kill a former girlfriend. “To whom it may concern,” reads the letter, which is written on official city letterhead and breaks several rules set out concerning reference letters in Appendix M of the city councilors’ handbook, “…I have known Mr. Alexander Lisi through his volunteer work on my 2010 election campaign. Mr. Lisi was an exemplary member of my campaign team, where he displayed exeptional leadership skills and worked hard in and out of the campaign office. Mr. Lisi has demonstrated to myself that he has a great work ethic and has always shown tact and diplomacy. I have known Mr. Lisi for several years, and he has always conducted himself in a courteous and polite manner.” |
94 | 6/15/2013 | Shannon Everett is arrested after throwing a cup of juice at Ford at the Taste of Little Italy street festival. The charges are later dropped. |
95 | 6/25/2013 | Despite the Fords longtime insistence that incoming calls to their talk-radio show aren’t planted, the CBC reports that Ford staffer David Price was a frequent caller before being hired as director of logistics and operations, calling in at least six times as “Dave from Scarborough”, “Dave from Etobicoke”, and “Dave from Georgetown”. Ford suspends Price for a week without pay the following day for calling the Toronto Sun to complain about its coverage and not identifying himself accurately. Price returns to work after his suspension but two weeks later disappears again for seven weeks after uttering a homophobic slur to CBC city hall reporter Jamie Strashin, who had broken the story about the anonymous calls. |
96 | 7/8/2013 | During a record-setting thunderstorm that paralyzes the city, Toronto Sun reporter Don Peat reports that power is out at Rob Ford’s home and he is in his SUV trying to “stay cool” with his kids. |
97 | 7/31/2013 | While announcing the city’s new graffiti-removal contractor, Ford urges residents to call 9-1-1 if they see graffiti being done. |
98 | 8/8/2013 | Carley McNeil, Ford’s events co-ordinator, is fired. This marks the eighth staff member to resign or be fired from the mayor’s office since mid-May. |
99 | 8/9/2013 | Ford fails to show up at a staff briefing in advance of his appearance of the Taste of the Danforth street festival. He later shows up alone and apparently intoxicated nearby, next to his parked Escalade SUV on Greenwood Ave. Eyewitnesses report he is staggering and slurring his words, and photos and videos are posted to Twitter to corroborate this. Aides scamble to reach Ford’s location by subway and a police escort is arranged. Councillor Jaye Robinson reiterates her call for Ford to take a leave of absence and get help. |
100 | 8/23/2013 | Ford defeats Hulk Hogan in a worked arm wrestling match at Fan Expo Canada. |
101 | 8/28/2013 | Asked by reporters if he has used marijuana, Ford chuckles and responds, “Oh yeah. I won’t deny that. I smoked a lot of it.” Officials in the mayor’s office do not respond to follow-up questions about when the mayor did so. |
102 | 9/9/2013 | Don Bosco returns donated football equipment to Ford. Ford admits hurt feelings and claims he was told the equipment would be thrown out if he didn’t take it back; board spokesman John Yan and local trustee Peter Jakovcic say that this did not happen. |
103 | 9/11/2013 | Ford’s summer football team, the Rexdale Raiders, is the first in the eight-year history of the Ontario Minor Football League to fail to pay its league fees. Following the resignation of Ford aide Chris Fickel, Ford’s team is now being helped by a different taxpayer-paid Ford aide, J.C. Hasko. |
104 | 9/19/2013 | Refusing to comment on an investigation into several incidents of abusive behavior by aide David Price at Georgetown GO station, the democratically elected, taxpayer-paid Ford declares “It’s actually no one’s business what happens in my office.” |
105 | 10/1/2013 | Ford’s friend and occasional driver and bodyguard Sandro Lisi, previously described by the mayor as “a great guy and straight as an arrow,” is charged with with marijuana trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime, possession of marijuana and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. after a police raid on a dry cleaning shop whose owner, Jamshid Bahrami, is also charged with possession of cocaine, trafficking in marijuana and conspiracy. Lisi has told three associates he has supplied drugs to the mayor, and he has a long record of police interactions including convictions for threatening and assaulting women; his lawyer, Domenic Basile, has previously told the Toronto Star that he knew his client was under investigation for matters connected to trying to retrieve the video allegedly showing Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. |
106 | 10/3/2013 | Unsealed court documents reveal that the Toronto police employed a rented Cessna airplane to follow Ford and his associates in Etobicoke. Doug Ford corroborates the air surveillance and also claims the police are listening in on Ford family phone calls. |
107 | 10/7/2013 | The Toronto Star and Toronto Sun report that Sandro Lisi’s attempt in March to swap marijuana for a stolen cellular phone alleged to belong to Ford helped kick-start the top secret police investigation eventually leading to his arrest; the phone was stolen approximately one to two weeks before the Star learned of the crack cocaine video and nearly two months before the Star and Gawker published stories detailing the video’s existence. |
108 | 10/9/2013 | The Globe and Mail reports that Payman Aboodowleh, a volunteer recruited by Ford to coach his former high school football team, has a history of committing violent crimes that was concealed from school administrators through the use of false identities. Aboodowleh is identified as an associate of and enforcer for Sandro Lisi in his drug dealing activities. |
109 | 10/11/2013 | Ford places robocalls to residents of Ward 43 criticizing their councillor, Paul Ainslie, for breaking ranks with him on the Scarborough subway extension. Ainslie pledges to file a complaint with the integrity commissioner. |
110 | 10/16/2013 | Ford calls for the outsourcing of recreational workers and the firing of a city employee after Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti circulates a photo allegedy showing the employee sleeping on the job; Ford calls it a “complete embarrassment” and a “black eye on the city” and says he doesn’t want to hear “excuses.” Another photo immediately goes viral depicting Ford leaning back on his chair, with his hands clasped on his stomach, his face relaxed, and his eyelids shut during a marathon executive committee meeting in June 2011. |
111 | 10/20/2013 | Ford places a “fuming, profane and belligerent” phone call to Toronto Sun columnist and longtime supporter Joe Warmington after the latter writes a column critical of Ford’s handing of the allegedly sleeping employee. “I am so f—— mad at you right now,” Ford screams, according to Warmington. “I am so f—— angry,” Ford repeats several times. “Don’t write lies. You know that stuff is lies. You know I wasn’t drunk at the Garrison Ball and that I didn’t grab that woman’s ass,” says Ford. “I am not the only one that is pissed at you. There are others.” “I am going to hang up before I say something I regret,” concludes Ford, also suggesting that Warmington “join the Toronto Star” and that in the future “I will do interviews with someone else.” |
112 | 10/21/2013 | Ford spokesman Amin Massoudi accidentally texts Toronto Sun reporter Don Peat with a request, apparently meant for another Ford staffer, to send the mayor’s hospitalized brother Randy a gift basket. The basket should cost around $150, says Massoudi. “[Ford] wants it sent on behalf of the mayor’s office,” Massoudi says. “It should say: ‘Get well soon from the mayor’s office.” Massoudi later texts Peat, apologizing for the confusion and asking him to “please disregard the messages” detailing the mayor’s use of city resources for a personal gift to his brother. |
113 | 10/31/2013 | It’s real, and it’s spectacular. |
FOLLOW JEROMIE WILLIAMS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JeromieWilliamsEatsTheInternetForBreakfast
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jeromiewilliams
GooglePlus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JeromieWilliams/posts
Pingback: First against the wall… | My Little Mad Scientist
How much money does rob ford make off of each of the tee shirts that are being sold in stores
LikeLike
Pingback: Fire Up The #cdnpoli And #topoli Hashtags – Rob Ford Has Some Serious Competition For ‘Mayor Of The Year’ | Jeromie Williams Eats The Internet For Breakfast
Pingback: Mayoral accomplishments: an annotated list | #TOpoli | Pressed by Sol Chrom
you may want to look at my Rob Ford Buffoon graphic, based on the Obama “Hope” poster. The image is here: http://m-design.ca/?portfolio=rob-ford-buffoon-poster and t-shirts are available here: http://www.cafepress.ca/mf/76584153/rob-ford_tshirt.
LikeLike
I thought canadians are nerds… Mayor Ford is the best you have. I wish we had mayor or prime minister like that. Now i know what real Canada and canadian values are. Keep it up, Canada! Crack foreva!!!
LikeLike
Pingback: Ask A Canadian: How Did This Whole Rob Ford Thing Happen To Toronto, Anyway? | Both Sides Clash
Pingback: Rob Ford’s pussy eatin’ is the least of our concerns | Bless This City
Pingback: Updated List: 113 Things Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Has Done Besides Smoking Crack In A Video | Jeromie Williams Eats The Internet For Breakfast | Chicago Daily Fuse
Pingback: The Look On Reporter Katie Simpson’s Face After Rob Ford’s Vulgar Comments Is Priceless | Jeromie Williams Eats The Internet For Breakfast
Pingback: Meanwhile In Canada … There’s A Ponytail Napper On The Loose! | Jeromie Williams Eats The Internet For Breakfast
Pingback: Definitive Lapse of Reason
Pingback: Rob Ford Is The Ugly Truth About The Suburbs | Iain Grant
Pingback: The Top 10 Uncanny Resemblances To Toronto Mayor Rob Ford | Jeromie Williams Eats The Internet For Breakfast
This needs updating. Poor guy. Some of this made me lol for real though. I did support him before the rumours of the crack video. Now that it is true, I’m kind of embarrassed that I stood up for him in conversations. I do want him to just step down now. This is too much.
LikeLike
Pingback: Schadenford: The Giddy Piling-On of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford | Your Daily Oddmanic
Pingback: Huffington Post Article: Rob Ford Is The Ugly Truth About The Suburbs | orvilledouglasworld
Pingback: Crack Is Whack, Yo. | MiserableBliss..
This is just sad, instead of ppl focussing on the bad things he’s done they’re going to focus on how he got into a hockey fight when he was 18!!! What you should have done was made an article over the good and bad, that way ppl can make an informed decision. It would have given you more credibility instead of looking like a reporter with a vendetta!! While I’m far from being his fan this article makes me want to argue for him. Yes he seems like a horrible human being but that doesn’t mean he’s a horrible mayor! Rather than focussing on him as a person you should have focused on him as a mayor and what he has done, or lack of, for the city!!
LikeLike
This is a blog, not CNN.
LikeLike
He’s a horrible person therefore a horrible mayor!
LikeLike
Not true.
LikeLike
You know who else did good things in his life? John Wayne Gacy.
Think about it.
LikeLike
Pingback: What Will Be The Last Straw For Rob Ford? | THE WRITINGS OF DENNIS EARL
Pingback: This Rob Ford fiasco is way too much fun | Bless This City
Pingback: Crack not the biggest issue | Librarian Explorations
Could it be that he aspires to be the next Nucky Thompson (Boardwalk Empire)?
LikeLike
And so what’s wrong with him? He’s straight up , what you need in a leader!
LikeLike
What aspect of this liar can be represented as “straight up”? It is scary that in all the fuss about his weaknesses as a human being, no one seems to be discussing his lies and fudging regarding the money that he has allegedly “saved” the city. Repeating something over and over does not make it true – whether it’s the status of your addiction or your fiscal management.
He has been a disaster for Toronto from end-to-end. Still I hope he gets help before someone ends up writing a eulogy.
LikeLike
He needs to step down or be fired from his job if he doesn’t. He’s very rude and he is a LIAR,LIAR! The only reason he is sucking ass to the media is because he got finally got caught ! He’s needs to get into rehab, and get some help for his anger issues as well. He is not fit to do this job with the state he is in.
LikeLike
I am far from a Ford supporter but much of this is more bias then fact
LikeLike
Those who say he is not an addict are unaware of the signs of addiction. Getting to work at noon, not showing up for meetings, lying, denying he has a problem, are all signs of addiction. Saying he will cut down on his alcohol consumption is pure denial of the problem. His pallor, constantly bloodshot eyes, obesity bordering on diabetes, are signs of one who is constantly under the influence of alcohol. He is a daily drinker and likely starts his day with a belt or two however I do not know that. Just that it is the situation of alcoholism. But I do believe that adding a fake photo shopped picture to the dialogue reflects poorly on the blogger and brings into question, in my mind, of the accuracy of the blog.
LikeLike
HAHAHAHA!!! BEST MAYOR EVER!!
LikeLike
unfortunately, no…it’s not a typo. That’s Mayor Ford!
LikeLike
no. 9 – “right-wing communist”? is that a typo?
LikeLike
The biggest joke about this whole fiasco is the Torontonians putting up with it.
Organize a parade and march on city hall and DEMAND his removal.
If a hundred thousand people were in front of the hall in a PEACEFUL demonstration, it may send a message that he is unwanted. What an embarrassment to the city!
He should be arrested for many of the things he’s pulled off.
LikeLike
Ford is a pea-brained guy with crime running through his veins, let loose to run this city. I really envy Edmonton and Calgary their mayors – progressive, intelligent, hard-working, open-minded–representatives of “today”. Toronto is a cool city and deserves so much more than a buffoon.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on shbaharehsh and commented:
Our mayor.
LikeLike
This is photoshopped right? Look how big his head is compared to the body.
LikeLike
Well done Jeromie – this is what we need, a timeline of the facts. They speak for themselves. Are you biased? Yes, toward the truth, I’d say, toward the story not being told by Ford Nation. All editors take a stand and support it – that’s what we learn to do at university, or should, at least. The facts paint a picture of a man in denial, a man who feels above the law, a man who needs a hell of a lot of help. I started to feel sorry for Ford today. It’ll pass. He needs to end up in jail to help himself, like Denzel Washington in FLIGHT. Good riddance Rob Ford.
LikeLike
Holy cow. Actionable or not, all these together paint a picture of a guy never far from a fight, an insult or a bottle. He couldn’t work as a pilot or a truck driver, but he’s okay to pilot a city of 2.5 million people?
Don’t know what got him elected, but if it was pure charm, then charisma has a lot to answer for.
LikeLike
Theo, get a grip man! Obviously your standards are way too low. If you think that a lying, bullying, fake-ass mayor is the way to go you should party with the man and his thugs. Right wing fool!
LikeLike
Was it really necessary to start the article with “fourth largest city in North America”. LOL, the insecurities and self-promotion of Torontonians is hilarious and sad at the same time.
LikeLike
I actually live on Montreal, and have never lived in Toronto. The reason why writers include things like that in artles is for added interest, and for SEO purposes. *drops mic*
LikeLike
What exactly is sad about stating the fact we’re the fourth largest city? It’s fact (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/toronto-now-the-fourth-largest-city-in-north-america/article9317612/)
It’s very relevant if the point the author is trying to get across is that as the fourth largest city in North America, we probably need a slightly more competent individual as mayor. It has nothing to do with insecurities or self-promotion, I think this is actually highlighting the opposite: that a city of 2.5 million people made a huge mistake in letting this person become our mayor. I think you made an extremely prejudiced statement which makes you seem both ignorant and supercilious
LikeLike
let me get this straight, a “reporter” calls him a “fat fuck” and we’re supposed to feel sorry for the reporter?
LikeLike
It’s not about what the reporter does, but rather, how the mayor reacts. This is simply another instance of Ford never being far from a fight. An even-tempered and clear-thinking mayor would have dealt with this insult in a different manor.
LikeLike
We’re not supposed to feel sorry for the reporter. We’re supposed to be ashamed of the way our mayor responded, which was basically no better than a 12 year old bully.
LikeLike
No, not sorry, but the vid make Mayor Fortz look michigana!
LikeLike
Mayor Ford has done some genuinely embarassing things that affect his credibility as a leader. But some of these are pretty trivial. Does it matter that a mayor is bad at football (#53)?
And it seems that every time you insult Ford Nation, it grows. Did you just buy Ford another 113 votes?
LikeLike
Except he just admitted publicly he smoked crack …
LikeLike
Please, please, please…. would someone please find a way to CHARGE this reckless man with a crime and put him away. Urinating in public, drug deals, domestic abuse, drinking & driving, smoking crack, perhaps extortion? and countless other offenses like the ‘fraud’ getting his friend (using a false name) on the coaching staff… using office letterhead to seek donations… Surely there might even be a law against being a total disgusting, embarrassing homophobic, racist baffoon! Anything…. just get him OUT!
LikeLike
None!
LikeLike
Your clearly a supporter of Ford, and the only reason for that is your lack of understanding politics. You are elected on your image and campaign. He’s an embarrassment now, and was before the election; basically i’m saying, fuck what he’s done for the city, it’s not important at this point
LikeLike
i dont believe everything i hear or see. I don’t care how rude he is. tell me some facts about the policies hes put in place. nothing!
LikeLike
I believe there is more to come~
LikeLike
There’s two sides of the coin as they say, what are the good things he’s done?
LikeLike
none!
LikeLike
You forgot his comments on wanting to review immigration laws to deal with gun crime! http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2012/07/19/rob_ford_wants_ottawa_to_use_immigration_laws_against_gun_crimes.html
LikeLike
Theo, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Miller and Lastman both did a hell of a lot more for the city than Ford, but of course you wouldn’t know that because you never paid any attention to city politics til Rob Ford ran for mayor. Miller did a lot to improve life in the suburbs. Ford has done exactly 2 worthwhile things and everything else he has done has made the city worse. “Customer service” has decreased, not increased, TTC service has been cut back, and user fees have increased. His subway plan costs more and serves fewer people than the plan that was in place, and will cost the city an extra close to $100 million dollars in cancellation fees and sunk costs. He cancelled one tax and wants to cancel another, which then means more service cuts. He lied about being able to build subways and increase service without raising taxes. And Mel Lastman got more votes than Ford in both of his Toronto mayoral elections, so you can stop lying about that.
LikeLike
lastman was a dirty jew and miller was a fucking moron and wasted the city’s money, try buying a house and paying an extra $10,000 from the tax he imposed
LikeLike
…. says Laurs on his way to a KKK meeting. hey, laurs, f*ck your mother, she obviously raised you in a barn where you threw around racial slurs all the time like they were going out of style. Or was is the same home the Fords grew up in? You all deserve each other and I hope you enjoy the free fall that this dickhead who has consistently manipulated others to get his way. Rob Ford is the fat, bigot, Canadian, crackhead, version of Lance Armstrong. Both psychopaths.
LikeLike
Laurs..gie kucken offen yom! Yer sister too!:-)
LikeLike
Majority of you are a bunch of clowns. Rob Ford has done so much good for the city and a hell of a lot more than Miller or Lastman ever did. You disgusting pigs dare to judge a man of his size and personal views/life? Fuck off losers stop focusing on his life and focus on yours. Most voted politician in Canadian history for a reason and he will most certainly be getting my families, friends and my votes again. Well deserved, and a fantastic mayor maybe it’s you hippies that need to re assess yourselves.
LikeLike
LOL I see you smoke crack too…
LikeLike
The Mayor of Toronto shouldn’t be smoking crack. Period!
LikeLike
Very well put! Why is it if anyone else had done half the crap that this bafoon of a Mayor of one of Canada’s largest city has done, they would be behind bars. Yet Rob Ford continues to make a mockery of not only Torontonians, but also our justice system!!! Somebody, please do the right thing and get him OUT OF CITY HALL….SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!
LikeLike
Not with standing the other citations and allegations, but the smoking crack allegation is just crazy! Crazy in the sense that it’s heinous and base! But it doesn’t seem to me as though the mayor is a drugee or an addict. Probably a recreational user.
LikeLike
How does one become a ‘recreational user’ of crack-cocaine? Marijuana? Yes. I can see that. But crack-cocaine? Hmmm…I’m sure he didn’t fidget with that pipe in the video. From what it sounds like, he knew what he was doing. There was nothing stating in the video that he asked “How do you light this thing?”. I’m sure that would’ve been highlighted and mentioned that he appeared like “an amateur”.
There’s more to this story. I’m sure it will all come out in the wash.
LikeLike
Fourth-largest city in North America. Just sayin.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on nicoletanguay.
LikeLike
This is a clearer article about the DUI: http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2010/08/20/ford_who_do_you_trust.html
LikeLike
In Florida, he was convicted of DUI, not failing to provide a breath sample. The breath sample story came from Ford. The arrest affidavit is here, among many places online: http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/08/19/rob-fords-no-good-very-bad-week-haunted-by-drug-charge/
LikeLike
Just do the right thing Rob, even if it’s just for your family… go away. Get help.
LikeLike
Maybe you should credit the source of this list.
LikeLike
You know what? You are absolutely correct. I cited it in the first article and forgot to on this one. Will fix that right away
LikeLike
You should cite your sources… https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhpNgYjOr8FzdGhZNVFocUhERUxzRGJBMFBtVDZHaUE#gid=0
LikeLike
Thanks for the heads up – it was an honest mistake. I had credited the google doc in the first article but made the mistake of not doing it in the second. The mistake has been rectified
LikeLike