Photos show Rob Ford meeting with alleged drug dealer

It's an early Halloween horror show for Rob Ford. A 500-page document containing evidence related to a police investigation into the alleged crack video contains photographs of Ford meeting with accused drug dealer, Sandro Lisi.

The papers were released at around 10:00 a.m. and suggest that Lisi, though a high-profile arrest, was not the intended target of Project Brazen 2, a spin-off of Operation Traveller, a major drug investigation by Toronto police. The target, documents suggest, was the mayor himself.

The papers, which are heavily redacted in places, record 349 phone calls and several meetings between Lisi and Ford, at least one of which involved the exchange of a manila envelope.

Police also appear to have searched Ford's garbage after encounters with Lisi and turned up empty vodka bottles. It also appears Lisi may have been aware of a police presence as he was seen turning and making erratic changes of course, according to the documents.

A crowd of media was gathered outside the mayor's home this morning. Ford shoved a Toronto Sun photographer as he left his house but did not comment on the police file.

Sandro Lisi was arrested with Etobicoke dry cleaner Jamshid Bahrami on Oct. 1. charged with marijuana trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime, possession of marijuana and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. He was released on $5,000 bail. Both are due back in court Nov. 12.

Although the information contained in the documents released this morning has been sworn before a judge, nothing has been proven in court.

Police chief Bill Blair is due to speak at 11:30 a.m.

Update: Blair confirms that the Toronto police have the alleged crack video. Follow that post for updates on this story.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Chris Bateman/blogTO.