According to the Globe and Mail’s sources, Rob Ford’s brother Doug, who has campaigned on tough-on-crime issues, was a reasonably big-deal hash dealer in the ’80s. and his sister used to hang out with white supremacists and was once shot in the face. It sounds completely crazy:

Well before the events of the past week, The Globe and Mail began to research the Ford brothers in an effort to chronicle their lives before rising to prominence in Canada’s largest city. Over the past 18 months, it has sought out and interviewed dozens of people who knew them in their formative years.

What has emerged is a portrait of a family once deeply immersed in the illegal drug scene. All three of the mayor’s older siblings – brother Randy, 51, and sister Kathy, 52, as well as Doug, 48 – have had ties to drug traffickers.

Ten people who grew up with Doug Ford – a group that includes two former hashish suppliers, three street-level drug dealers and a number of casual users of hash – have described in a series of interviews how for several years Mr. Ford was a go-to dealer of hash. These sources had varying degrees of knowledge of his activities: Some said they purchased hash directly from him, some said they supplied him, while others said they observed him handling large quantities of the drug.

The events they described took place years ago, but as mayor, Rob Ford has surrounded himself with people from his past. Most recently he hired someone for his office whose long history with the Fords, the sources said, includes selling hashish with the mayor’s brother.

The Globe wrote to Doug Ford outlining what the sources said about him, and received a response from Gavin Tighe, his lawyer, who said the allegations were false. “Your references to unnamed alleged sources of information represent the height of irresponsible and unprofessional journalism given the gravely serious and specious allegations of substantial criminal conduct.”

Go read it! In fact, the five-page epic is so good it’s even worth buying the physical newspaper and devouring it old-school, printed-words-on-paper style.

Doug Ford refutes the Globe’s story, calling media “scumbags” and saying ““I think it’s pretty low, and a bunch of sleazy, sleazy journalism. It has gone to the bottom of the barrel … it makes me sick”.  Is he just throwing out insults and lying his ass off to protect his position of power? What do you think?