Mayor Rob Ford tells Conrad Black his closet is empty in chummy exclusive interview

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford accused Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair of using his friend and occasional driver Alexander Lisi as a “prop” in a political attack against him, telling Conrad Black in an exclusive interview that investigators should charge him if he has done anything illegal.

“I definitely think this is political. I think they used Lisi as a prop to get at me,” Ford told the former media baron in an interview that aired on VisionTV Monday night.

This is not the first time Ford has claimed Blair had a political vendetta against him. It has been a common refrain from the embattled mayor ever since police announced they had recovered a video reportedly showing the mayor smoking from a crack pipe, forcing him to admit to smoking crack cocaine and lying about it.

But this is the first time he has publicly claimed that Lisi, an unsavory character with a criminal history who has been charged with drug trafficking and extortion, was a police prop.

Ford made the comment during an interview with disgraced media mogul Conrad Black, on an episode of his recently-released talk show The Zoomer, which airs on Vision TV.

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The 15-minute interview was shot last week and had originally been scheduled for later this month. The decision was made to change the air date based on the hype around the interview.

Black's visit to Ford's office last week prompted media coverage of its own. The former medal baron called Ford a "very nice man" and suggested he might endorse him in the next election.

The interview, which ended with Black smiling and laughing with Ford, is an indication that Ford doesn't have to look hard to find supporters in the media. He and his brother had a long-running radio show on Newstalk 1010, until it was cancelled amid the revelation that Ford smoked crack cocaine and lied about it. The brothers then had a television show on Sun News Network, which was cancelled after one episode.

Black himself is a controversial conservative, who spent time in U.S. prison on fraud and obstruction of justice charges. Black is, however, perhaps perceived as higher brow than the oafish image Ford portrays. Still the pair appeared to be fast friends.

At one point during the interview, Ford said he was clean and offered to take a urine test.

"I haven't had a drop of alcohol in five weeks. I was never an alcoholic but I like to have a few drinks on the weekends like a lot of people do -," Ford said.

"Including me," Black interjected. "Sometimes during the week."

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Ford, of course, has a history of having more than a few drinks. He belatedly admitted to a handful of instances of public drunkenness, including an appearance at a Danforth street festival. He has also confessed to smoking crack cocaine. Police investigation documents paint a picture of more than one instance of illegal drug use.

When asked about his history of untruthful denials and obfuscations, Ford ducked the question and repeated a familiar claim that he being honest now.

“Have I made mistakes, you are absolutely right. It is humiliating and embarrassing when you make mistakes,” he added.

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