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TORONTO — Toronto police say two days ago they recovered a video that apparently shows embattled Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine.
That’s the same video that John Cook, editor of the U.S. gossip website Gawker on May 17, 2013, claimed he had viewed.
“I think it’s fair to say the mayor does appear in the video, but I’m not going to go into the details of what is depicted on that video,” Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said Thursday during a press conference carried across Canadian all-news cable channels.
STORY: Gawker’s Nick Denton Explains Why Invasion of Privacy Is Positive for Society
Blair earlier during the press conference said the “video digital file” recovered this week contained “images consistent with those reported in the press.”
That video is now in the hands of the court as it considers extortion charges brought Thursday against alleged drug dealer Alexander “Sandro” Lisi as part of a police investigation into Ford.
Blair said the video was likely to be made public as part of court proceedings.
On May 18, a day after the existence of the video was reported by Gawker and the Toronto Star newspaper, the Toronto Police assigned a senior investigator to probe Ford and attempt to confirm the existence of the footage.
“Detective Sergeant [Gary] Giroux was assigned to investigate the matter brought forth by the Toronto Star and gawker.com and their allegations against Mayor Rob Ford. Specifically to investigate the existence of a cellular phone containing a video of Ford smoking crack cocaine,” a sworn affidavit released Thursday as part of around 350 pages of court documents made public states.
“Detective Sergeant Giroux was detailed to investigate the matter of the Mayor Ford allegations and to substantiate any of the claims that have been made,” the document continued.
Ford had so far resisted calls for his resignation as the crack cocaine scandal has dragged on.
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