Ford friend arrested in raid
Associate who sought video of mayor appearing to smoke crack cocaine taken into custody by police in Etobicoke
At least two people were arrested shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday in a raid in Etobicoke that swept up Sandro Lisi, a man who was investigated for his attempts to retrieve a video that appears to show Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. Also arrested was a man who eyewitnesses said is the owner of Richview Cleaners, a small dry cleaning shop at the popular Richview Plaza at Eglinton Ave. and Wincott Dr. Detectives at the plaza said they could not release the identity of the two men taken into custody or say why they were arrested.
A Star investigation recently revealed that Lisi has told three associates he has supplied drugs to the mayor. The Star has not verified Lisi’s claim, and Ford did not respond to requests for comment at the time.
According to two eyewitnesses, unmarked cruisers and other police vehicles swept into the plaza and boxed in Lisi, who had just arrived in his black Range Rover. Detectives took Lisi out of the vehicle and handcuffed him.
Other officers rushed into the cleaners and brought out a man described by witnesses as the owner.
That man, who neighbours in the building say has struggled with substance abuse, was taken away by police while other detectives searched the cleaners.
Lisi’s Range Rover, which is owned by a former drug client who is now clean, was searched and then taken away by tow truck to a local police garage.
Later Tuesday, the owner of the Range Rover was concerned that he would have to pay high impound fees to get the vehicle back.
Police — all plainclothes detectives — maintained a strong presence at Richview Plaza and at the Lisi home just east of the Dixon condo towers that were the site of June’s Project Traveller guns and gangs raids.
Just down the street from Lisi’s home, a uniformed officer with a police dog waited in a van through the early hours of Wednesday.
Detectives at both locales said they were not allowed to discuss the night’s raids or any plans for future raids.
Arecent Star investigation revealed that a special Toronto police squad was investigating Lisi and Ford associate David Price on allegations they tried to retrieve the crack cocaine video after the Star broke news of its existence.
Lisi has a lengthy record of interaction with police, including convictions for threatening and assaulting women. He has acted as an occasional driver and security guard for the mayor, showing up the morning the crack video scandal broke and shadowing the mayor as reporters sought comment. He also drove the mayor to and from the Garrison Ball last winter — a prominent social event at which Ford was asked to leave because he appeared impaired. Residents of the area and building tenants have told the Star they have had concerns about drug dealing in the area in the past. During the Star investigation, Lisi was spotted by reporters near the dry cleaner’s shop numerous times. Lisi’s lawyer, Domenic Basile, previously told the Star he knew his client was under investigation for matters connected to trying to retrieve the video. Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said Tuesday night: “I am not in a position to confirm anything.” Two Star reporters who viewed the video have described an obviously impaired Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine and making homophobic and racist remarks in response to goading questions from a man not seen in the video. In one attempt to retrieve the video, soon after news of its existence broke on May16, Lisi paid visits to the Etobicoke house where men from the Dixon Rd. community involved in the crack cocaine trade were known to hang out. The bungalow is home to Fabio and Elena Basso, both friends of Ford. “Where are the guys who made the video, Fab,” Lisi said, according to a witness who was present. “You know where they are.” Fabio Basso, a quiet man, was nervous. “They’re gone. Out of town. Gone to Windsor,” said Basso. The Star does not know what Lisi did with that information. A day later, just before midnight, Fabio, his girlfriend, and Fabio’s mother were assaulted by an unknown attacker brandishing an extendable baton who broke into their home. No charges have been laid in the attack. Around the same time that Lisi was asking about the video, Ford’s “logis- tics director” and former football coach, David Price, was pursuing leads in the Dixon Rd. community of highrises where the Star reporters had viewed the video. Price was making phone calls, seeking the whereabouts of the video.
Ford’s public position on the video was summed up in a quote he gave at a news conference one week after the story broke.
“I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist,” he told reporters.
However, sources have told the Star that at a meeting the morning that news of the video broke, Ford cited “our contacts” and told close confidants not to worry because he knew where the video was and provided two apartment addresses in the Dixon Rd. complex. With files from Jayme Poisson