EXCLUSIVE: Broker of Rob Ford crack video breaks silence in CityNews interview
Posted November 8, 2013 3:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The man who says he attempted to broker the sale of the Rob Ford crack video ended up fearing for his life and lying low for months when the scandal exploded in the media.
In an interview with CityNews reporter Avery Haines, Mohamed Farah, 33, said he was approached by a friend in the Somali community who asked him to help sell the video — hoping initially to garner $1 million for the damning footage.
Farah said the friend wanted to use the money to move out of Toronto and start a new life with his girlfriend.
“It’s not personal (against Mayor Ford),” he said. “It was a video that had monetary value.”
Farah agreed to help, but says he personally didn’t stand to make any money off the potential sale.
“Originally he thought he was gonna get a million dollars,” Farah said.
“I told him, ‘Look, you won’t even get $10,000 for the video.’ But I said, ‘Look, I’ll try my best.’”
Farah said The Toronto Star offered him $40,000 and later contemplated going as high as $80,000. Gawker offered $15,000 before eventually raising $200,000 through crowd-funding efforts.
By the time the money was raised, however, the story was making international headlines, and the source went underground.
Farah followed suit, realizing that Ford’s political career wasn’t the only thing on the line — so was his life.
“There was a lot of threats related to the (video) and I didn’t know who to trust,” he said.
Farah said he’s seen the video and it contained what was described in the media. He also adds that multiple copies were made.
“The mayor is kind of leaning back, smoking crack from a crack pipe,” he said.
Farah said the video also shows Ford talking about the conflict-of-interest case involving his football charity and making “derogatory” comments about Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau.
