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Rob Ford’s year began with a legal victory and his allies’ hope for an end to “distractions.”
It ends with Ford’s personal “distractions” turned all-consuming as the mayor, sidelined from city business by his council colleagues and facing a defamation lawsuit, wages a mayoral campaign that looks remarkably like his first: that of a bombastic outsider, railing against everyone.
Ford’s victorious in court as the conflict-of-interest case against him is thrown out on what lawyer Clay Ruby calls a “technicality.”
Feb. 1
Audit finds Ford spent more than $40,000 over his limit during the election campaign and broke multiple rules. (The audit committee votes not to pursue a probe Feb. 25, which Ford calls “a great day for democracy”)
Former mayoral rival Sarah Thomson accuses Ford of groping her during an event for the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. He calls the allegation “completely false.”
March 26
A Toronto Star article reports Ford was asked to leave a military ball the previous month because he was drunk. Ford later denies this, calling the Star reporters “pathological liars.”
March 27
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Police wiretaps allege two acquaintances of Ford – Mohamed Siad and Siyadin Abdi – discussed the Garrison Ball story and a video they have of the mayor – what police believe is the alleged crack video. According to the police documents, the two recall Ford offering to buy the video for "five thousand and a car." They discuss asking for more – closer to $150,000 – and offering it to media organizations.
April 20
Police wiretaps allege a series of conversations between apparent acquaintances of Ford beginning early in the morning of April 20, when Elena Basso allegedly called up people soliciting drugs on Ford’s behalf. Documents allege subsequent wiretapped phone calls report the mayor smoking someone’s “rocks,” followed by a series of exchanges regarding a phone Ford told his staff he misplaced at a community clean-up but which his friend accused dealers of taking from the mayor the night before. The phone is eventually returned, allegedly in exchange for weed, at a Country Style.
April 21
Ford offers to explain to women how politics works.
Ford fired as Don Bosco football coach. Police wiretaps suggest he wanted to use city resources to throw his players a party and staff refused to cooperate.
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