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| Caught Again on Camera, Mayor Leaves for Treatment | |
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| TORONTO — Rob Ford, Toronto’s troubled mayor who acquired international notoriety for his drug use and a seeming inability to experience shame, quietly took a break from public life on Thursday. | TORONTO — Rob Ford, Toronto’s troubled mayor who acquired international notoriety for his drug use and a seeming inability to experience shame, quietly took a break from public life on Thursday. |
| As a light drizzle fell outside Mr. Ford’s home, his nephew Michael Ford stuffed a large green suitcase onto the passenger seat of a red Chevy Camaro. Mr. Ford, wearing a suit and a black shirt without a tie, soon emerged from the house. Without a word to reporters, he was driven away in a gray sedan, the Camaro following. | As a light drizzle fell outside Mr. Ford’s home, his nephew Michael Ford stuffed a large green suitcase onto the passenger seat of a red Chevy Camaro. Mr. Ford, wearing a suit and a black shirt without a tie, soon emerged from the house. Without a word to reporters, he was driven away in a gray sedan, the Camaro following. |
| The departure marked a mundane exit in a bizarre piece of political theater that has veered wildly between drama and farce since last May, when The Toronto Star and the website Gawker reported on a video showing the mayor smoking crack cocaine. | The departure marked a mundane exit in a bizarre piece of political theater that has veered wildly between drama and farce since last May, when The Toronto Star and the website Gawker reported on a video showing the mayor smoking crack cocaine. |
| Late Wednesday night, Mr. Ford, 44, announced that he was taking a leave from his duties as mayor to receive treatment for an alcohol problem. That announcement was made about two hours after The Globe and Mail, a Toronto newspaper, said its reporters had seen another video in which Mr. Ford appears to be smoking crack, this one made last Saturday. | Late Wednesday night, Mr. Ford, 44, announced that he was taking a leave from his duties as mayor to receive treatment for an alcohol problem. That announcement was made about two hours after The Globe and Mail, a Toronto newspaper, said its reporters had seen another video in which Mr. Ford appears to be smoking crack, this one made last Saturday. |
| Where Mr. Ford has gone and when he will return to City Hall remain, for now, mysteries. Equally unclear is the impact the video will have on Mr. Ford’s chances for re-election in October, given his past admissions of drug use, drunkenness and other antics. | Where Mr. Ford has gone and when he will return to City Hall remain, for now, mysteries. Equally unclear is the impact the video will have on Mr. Ford’s chances for re-election in October, given his past admissions of drug use, drunkenness and other antics. |
| On the verge of tears, Mr. Ford’s mother, Diane Ford, appeared on a local news program on Thursday to make an appeal: “Leave him alone; leave us alone.” | On the verge of tears, Mr. Ford’s mother, Diane Ford, appeared on a local news program on Thursday to make an appeal: “Leave him alone; leave us alone.” |
| Doug Ford, Mr. Ford’s elder brother and his campaign manager, who is also a city councilor, was similarly teary during a news conference at City Hall. “As an older brother, I am relieved that Rob has faced his problems and has decided to seek professional help,” Doug Ford said. | Doug Ford, Mr. Ford’s elder brother and his campaign manager, who is also a city councilor, was similarly teary during a news conference at City Hall. “As an older brother, I am relieved that Rob has faced his problems and has decided to seek professional help,” Doug Ford said. |
| Yet outside of the Ford family, there seemed to be far less sympathy for the mayor. | Yet outside of the Ford family, there seemed to be far less sympathy for the mayor. |
| On Thursday, several politicians, many of them former allies, said Mr. Ford should abandon his campaign and quit politics immediately. | On Thursday, several politicians, many of them former allies, said Mr. Ford should abandon his campaign and quit politics immediately. |
| “Go and never come back,” said John Parker, a member of the City Council who shares Mr. Ford’s right-wing politics. “Things have gone too far,” he said. | “Go and never come back,” said John Parker, a member of the City Council who shares Mr. Ford’s right-wing politics. “Things have gone too far,” he said. |
| Under Ontario law, there is no effective mechanism for removing Mr. Ford from office. After he admitted last November that he had been smoking crack in the first video, Mr. Ford was stripped by the Council of most of his staff, budget and powers. Norm Kelly, the deputy mayor who took on most of Mr. Ford’s authority last fall, will now handle the mayor’s remaining duties. | Under Ontario law, there is no effective mechanism for removing Mr. Ford from office. After he admitted last November that he had been smoking crack in the first video, Mr. Ford was stripped by the Council of most of his staff, budget and powers. Norm Kelly, the deputy mayor who took on most of Mr. Ford’s authority last fall, will now handle the mayor’s remaining duties. |
| The latest video, The Globe and Mail reported, appears to show Mr. Ford smoking crack in the basement of the home of his sister, Kathy, who has admitted to her own substance abuse problems. A drug dealer contacted the paper in an attempt to sell the video. While it declined that offer, the newspaper did pay 10,000 Canadian dollars for a series of still photos. | The latest video, The Globe and Mail reported, appears to show Mr. Ford smoking crack in the basement of the home of his sister, Kathy, who has admitted to her own substance abuse problems. A drug dealer contacted the paper in an attempt to sell the video. While it declined that offer, the newspaper did pay 10,000 Canadian dollars for a series of still photos. |
| After his initial confession, Mr. Ford insisted that his cocaine use was a one-time aberration. Before long, however, other videos surfaced in which Mr. Ford appeared to be extremely intoxicated in restaurants and other public places. | After his initial confession, Mr. Ford insisted that his cocaine use was a one-time aberration. Before long, however, other videos surfaced in which Mr. Ford appeared to be extremely intoxicated in restaurants and other public places. |
| On Wednesday, The Toronto Sun posted an audio recording to its website, in which Mr. Ford appears to be heard making vulgar threats, homophobic remarks and inappropriate comments about a woman running against him for mayor. According to the newspaper, the recording was made on Monday in Sullie Gorman’s, a bar located in the West End neighborhood that is the family’s home and political base and is near a park named for Mr. Ford’s father, Doug Ford Sr., a former member of the provincial legislature. | On Wednesday, The Toronto Sun posted an audio recording to its website, in which Mr. Ford appears to be heard making vulgar threats, homophobic remarks and inappropriate comments about a woman running against him for mayor. According to the newspaper, the recording was made on Monday in Sullie Gorman’s, a bar located in the West End neighborhood that is the family’s home and political base and is near a park named for Mr. Ford’s father, Doug Ford Sr., a former member of the provincial legislature. |
| The Toronto Star also reported on Thursday that unnamed witnesses said that Mr. Ford and four men he met outside of City Hall boarded a party bus on March 15 that eventually took them to a nightclub called Muzik. While there, the newspaper said, Mr. Ford saw the singer Justin Bieber. | The Toronto Star also reported on Thursday that unnamed witnesses said that Mr. Ford and four men he met outside of City Hall boarded a party bus on March 15 that eventually took them to a nightclub called Muzik. While there, the newspaper said, Mr. Ford saw the singer Justin Bieber. |
| According to the newspaper, Mr. Ford “tried to shake Bieber’s hand and became enraged when Bieber jokingly asked him, ‘Did you bring any crack to smoke?’ ” | According to the newspaper, Mr. Ford “tried to shake Bieber’s hand and became enraged when Bieber jokingly asked him, ‘Did you bring any crack to smoke?’ ” |
| Mr. Ford likely will not suffer financially if he quits politics. His family became wealthy through its ownership of Deco Labels and Tags, a major producer of labels and packaging with operations in Canada and the United States. | Mr. Ford likely will not suffer financially if he quits politics. His family became wealthy through its ownership of Deco Labels and Tags, a major producer of labels and packaging with operations in Canada and the United States. |