It also provides a glimpse of why police might take such an interest in Lisi and his relationship with the mayor; why it might be concerning to have people with apparent ties to the underworld with ready city access, and why a personal story became public.
“There are an abundance of opportunities for a guy like him to compromise someone like the mayor. Eventually, he could be in the guy’s back pocket,” said a former senior law enforcement officer who has led major drug and organized crime probes.
“There are contracts big and small, there are favours of all kinds, if they were able to compromise him. The mere knowledge or witnessing of him using opens up to potential compromise. This guy could do all kinds of damage,” he said.
Ian Greene, is a professor emeritus in York University’s school of public policy and administration after years of work in Alberta’s public service. He has taught on Canadian public law, judicial administration, political ethics and public administration.
“He’s keeping company with criminal elements and that could put the whole city in danger, not only himself,” said Mr. Greene of Mr. Ford. “Criminal elements could think, ‘I’ve got a friend in public office, maybe I can take advantage of that for my personal gain.’”
Mr. Greene said the information unearthed about Mr. Ford’s private life and his relationship with Lisi is clearly in the public interest.
“In order to hold elected office, I think you have to be someone of good character, someone who is honest, somebody that you can trust, somebody who puts the public interest first rather than their personal interest. And you can often judge someone by the company that they keep.
“There’s a danger that if you’re hanging out with people who are involved in criminal activities, then you do risk being drawn into those activities and possibly blackmailed.”
