Toronto's scandal-plagued mayor Rob Ford said Wednesday he is taking a
leave of absence in order to enter rehab, after a new video emerged
allegedly showing him smoking crack days ago.
Ford, 44, has
already admitted to binge drinking and smoking crack and is campaigning
for re-election on a give-me-another-chance platform.
The Toronto
Globe and Mail published a screen grab from a video it said its
reporters had viewed, in which Ford is seen holding a metal pipe alleged
to contain the addictive cocaine derivative.
In the full video,
which the paper said was shot by a self-described drug dealer, the mayor
of North America's fourth largest city is seen taking a hit from a
copper colored pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke and shaking his right
hand frantically, the Globe and Mail said.
The dealer says the
video was shot in the early hours of Saturday in the basement of the
apartment building where Ford's sister Kathy lives.
Approached at City Hall Wednesday evening, Ford declined to respond to questions about the video, the paper said.
The
newspaper said the dealer is trying to sell the video "for at least six
figures." The paper said Ford's sister has also struggled with a drug
problem.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Sun tabloid posted on its web site
audio of the mayor, apparently intoxicated, and captured in a bar
Monday night. Ford can be heard swearing and lewdly commenting about
several municipal and provincial politicians.
-'Problem with alcohol'-
"I
have a problem with alcohol, and the choices I have made while under
the influence. I have struggled with this for some time," Ford said in a
statement late Wednesday, the Star said.
"Today, after taking
some time to think about my own well-being, how to best serve the people
of Toronto and what is in the best interests of my family, I have
decided to take a leave from campaigning and from my duties as Mayor to
seek immediate help."
Dennis Morris, a lawyer for Ford -- who has
been campaigning for reelection despite having had his duties reduced in
the wake of the scandal -- told reporters Ford would attend a "facility
that assists people with substance abuse difficulties."
The
mayor, mired in scandal for months after being accused of unseemly
behavior during a series of drunken rampages, has been stripped of most
of his powers by Toronto city council.
The mayor burst into
international headlines nearly a year ago when another alleged drug
dealer tried to sell another video of the mayor allegedly smoking crack,
to media outlets in Canada and the United States.
Then, Ford
denied using the drug but later acknowledged he had smoked crack cocaine
in a "drunken stupor" but said he was not an addict.
Since then
Ford has been filmed numerous times in public appearing erratic and
acting impaired. He had admitted to drinking but never to using drugs.
The
anti-tax populist was first elected in a landslide in October 2010,
picking up the support of 47 percent of Toronto voters, who liked his
promises to cut taxes and slash wasteful spending.
His diehard
backers in the suburbs of the Canadian metropolis have kept his approval
ratings high despite alleged ties to gang members, admitted crack use
and embarrassing YouTube videos.
The Globe and Mail said it was shown three videos of Ford shot secretly early Saturday by the alleged drug dealer.
All three clips were filmed in a cluttered, dimly lit room with a white tile ceiling, it said.
The
audio on the three clips was not available because the speaker on the
dealer's phone was broken when he made the recordings. The alleged
dealer said he supplied the crack that was smoked that night and that he
had decided to sell the footage to "make money."
Lawyer Morris said it was hard for anyone to prove what is in the pipe the mayor is allegedly seen smoking.
"So
say for example it was marijuana," he said, according to the newspaper.
"Would [you] pay more for a video if I told you it was marijuana or
crack cocaine?"
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