Rob Ford accused of ordering jailhouse beating
Scott MacIntyre, an ex-boyfriend of Rob Ford's sister Kathy, is alleging the mayor ordered a savage jailhouse beating that left him with a broken leg and missing teeth, according to a statement of claim filed this afternoon.
MacIntyre says the attack on March 23, 2012 was intended to keep him from revealing details of the mayor's "drug and alcohol abuse and association with criminals." He also claims the video of Ford uttering violent threats that was bought by the Toronto Star in November is related to the incident.
"Ford became highly agitated that the plaintiff might disclose Ford's unsavoury activities," the statement of claim alleges. "Accordingly, he conspired with [Payman] Aboodowleh [a Don Bosco football coach] to send a firm message to the plaintiff [MacIntyre] to prevent him from doing so. In particular ... Ford and Aboodowleh conspired to have the plaintiff threatened, and subsequently brutally beaten, while he was incarcerated."
Speaking outside Ford's office at City Hall this afternoon, criminal lawyer Dennis Morris said the accusations are "without fact or foundation."
"It's very irresponsible and spurious to say he [was involved,]" Morris said.
MacIntyre, a convicted drug dealer, was accused of shooting Kathy Ford in the face in 2005. Years later, he entered the Ford family home and demanded money, according court transcripts reported in The Star. "You owe me money and your sister owes me money," the court recorded MacIntyre as saying. "If I don't get it they will kill me."
MacIntyre was jailed at the Toronto West Detention Centre as a result of the incident and banned from making contact with the Fords. According to The Star, in March 2012 letters to Kathy Ford and the newspaper were intercepted by prison staff and MacIntyre was beaten several months later by a fellow inmate, who The Globe and Mail identifies as Aedan Petros, "a 300-pound, violent criminal who played defensive tackle for Mr. Ford when he was the coach of the football team at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School."
The suit also names the Ministry of Correctional Services, whose staff MacIntyre claims facilitated the attack by ensuring "that there was no supervision or surveillance of the area where the plaintiff was assaulted" under the guidance of Ford and Aboodowleh.
A ministry spokesman told the paper an internal investigation into the beating is currently underway.
MacIntyre is seeking $1 million in damages.
None of the allegations contained in the statement of claim have been proven in court.
Read the full statement of claim:
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: Chris Bateman/blogTO.
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