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Rob Ford might be upgraded to jedi status when it comes to disguising his alleged drug addiction. The Toronto mayor never let the crack allegations slow his stride, brushed off the reports as media fodder, and kept up with his daily life.

A good portion of his staff is gone (some have been replaced), which could mean that the drug story is valid but recorded proof is the only way to seal the deal.

Gawker.com –the website that reported the story after one of its writers watched Ford’s crack tape– lost contact with the whistleblower. The site never named the seller seeking $200,000 to turn over the footage but after stalling too long, and the story catching so much publicity, the tape is now gone.

Possibly, forever. “At the end of last week, after a long silence, the video’s owner reached out to the intermediary we have been dealing with. He told him the video is ‘gone,” wrote Gawker’s John Cook.

The home where the video was shot has since been exposed as a secret drug hub. One of the residents, Elena Johnson, was convicted of cocaine trafficking. The home is owned by the 51-year-old’s mother, Lina Basso. Johnson’s brother, Fabio Basso, also has a criminal conviction, for possessing a prohibited weapon.

Ford’s link to a house inhabited by a convicted drug dealer further proves that the rumored report is probably true, but still: no video.

The seller may have good reason to be scared of exposing Ford on tape. Both of the men photographed alongside the 47-year-old  on the reported night of illegal activity have been killed.

 

Photo: Darren Calabrese/National Post