Black dares Rob Ford’s ‘accusers’ to ‘put up or shut up’

TORONTO – Conrad Black is daring Rob Ford’s “accusers” to “put up or shut up.”

The former media baron made the comments in a promotional video for his one-on-one interview with the mayor which airs Monday night on Vision TV.

The mayor has been mired in controversy since May when the Toronto Star and Gawker reported a video existed showing him smoking what could be crack cocaine.

Months later, Chief Bill Blair confirmed the video did indeed exist, discovered in the course of a guns and gangs investigation.  Blair made the announcement on October 31, the same day a mass of documents detailing a lengthy investigation into the mayor’s friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi were released.

In Depth: Mayor Rob Ford

Unredacted versions of the Lisi documents released last week suggest the mayor not only knew about the alleged crack video, but allegedly offered two supposed gang members $5,000 and a car in exchange for it.

None of the statements made in the documents have been proven in court.

The mayor has apologized for his drug use and says his main issue is being overweight.

In a second clip posted on the Vision TV website, Ford says he is ready and willing to take a drug test.

“If they want me to do a drug test, a urine test, I’ll do one right now,” he said. “If there’s any drugs in my system, any alcohol in my system, I have no problem doing that test.”

It’s not the first time he’s offered to take a drug test. During a November council debate in which councillors stripped most of his powers and urged him to resign, the mayor tried unsuccessfully to move a motion mandating drug and alcohol testing for all councillors.