Toronto Mayor Rob Ford served subpoena to testify at extortion trial

Toronto, A Toronto detective has served Rob Ford with a subpoena to testify in the upcoming trial of his friend Alexander Lisi, the Toronto mayor’s lawyer confirmed.
Toronto Police Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux gave Ford the summons at Ford’s mother’s home on Aug. 26 at 9 p.m., the mayor’s lawyer Dennis Morris confirmed to CTV Toronto.
Ford later confirmed the details to reporters, saying only that “everything now is before the courts.”

Giroux is leading the Project Brazen 2 investigation, which resulted in Lisi’s charges.
Alexander (Sando) Lisi was charged with extortion for his alleged attempts to obtain the so-called “crack video.”
On Friday, Ford told CTV Toronto’s Natalie Johnson that he is no longer hanging out with Lisi, who is also facing drug trafficking charges in a separate case.
“He severed all relationships with anybody involved in any alleged impropriety with the law,” Morris said Friday morning.
Police have been investigating Ford and the video since 2013, when members of the media announced they’d seen a video of the Toronto mayor smoking from a glass pipe.
The summons brings Ford’s past drug use back into the spotlight ahead of the Oct. 27 election, though further details of the allegations against Lisi are unlikely to be revealed before the vote.
The preliminary inquiry, held to determine if there is enough evidence against Lisi to proceed to trial, is scheduled for March 2015.
Earlier this year, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said the video, which has not been viewed by CTV News, would be introduced as evidence in the case.
Since the police investigation began, Ford has refused to be interviewed as part of the probe. The subpoena means he will no longer be able to deny police an interview. He’s required to attend the hearing in March.
Ford has said he has not seen the video, but did admit to smoking crack cocaine in a “drunken stupor.”