Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Denies Smoking Crack In Video

A group of Canadian drug dealers are asking for $100,000 for a video they have of Toronto Mayor Tom Ford smoking crack cocaine. Reporters for the Toronto Star newspaper and Gawker Media said late Thursday they had watched the cellphone video and confirmed it shows Ford smoking crack.

"Absolutely not true... It's ridiculous," Ford told reporters outside his house, before driving away in his SUV.

Gawker Media started a "crackstarter" fundraising page on their website to raise $200,000 to purchase the video of Ford, the NY Daily news reported. The two-minute video allegedly shows Ford hitting a crack pipe and talking incoherently with a man off-camera.

"I am confident that I saw Rob Ford smoking crack in that video," Gawker's editor-in-chief John Cook said.

"Gawker alone wasn't willing to pay more than $40,000," Cook continued. He said Gawker didn't pay to view the video, Reuters reported.

According to Reuters, Toronto Police spokesman said the police are "closely monitoring the situation." 

This is not the first time Ford has been surrounded by controversy. The 43-year-old took office more than two years ago but has been known to skip city council meetings to coach high school football. He also was involved in a confrontation with a reporter outside his home.

In 2012, he was briefly ordered out of office after being found guilty of conflict of interest. He won an appeal and is now allowed to finish his four-year term.