Mayor Rob Ford wrote a letter of support for his friend, alleged drug dealer Alexander ‘Sandro’ Lisi, that was considered during the sentencing hearing that followed Lisi’s conviction for threatening to kill an Etobicoke woman.

The letter was made an exhibit in Lisi’s case on June 14 and is briefly referenced in a transcript of the hearing obtained by the Star.

Recently, when Lisi’s name made news as an accused drug trafficker with a record of criminal convictions for threats, harassment and drug possession, Ford expressed surprise that his longtime friend was facing serious accusations. He said Lisi, 35, was a “good guy,” and “I don’t throw my friends under the bus.”

Neither Ford nor his communications staff responded to written requests from the Star on Thursday to be interviewed on this matter.

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The Star appeared in court Thursday requesting a copy of the letter from court files. Iris Fischer, counsel for the Star, argued that all exhibits should be open to the public — an assertion based on the Canadian open court principle and supported by case law from the Supreme Court of Canada. Because of this, the Star argued, the exhibits should be provided immediately.

But Lisi’s lawyer objected. Justice Jane Kelly said she will hear further arguments Tuesday, but noted that if Lisi’s lawyer, Domenic Basile, changes his mind overnight and decides not to oppose the Star’s request, the letter could be released Friday.

“Perhaps common sense will come to prevail on this issue,” the judge said.

Justice Paul French, the judge in the case for which Ford wrote the letter, had earlier determined that Lisi threatened to kill his former girlfriend. He sentenced him to probation and time already served under house arrest while he awaited trial. Lisi has filed an appeal of the conviction.

The Crown had sought two to three months’ jail time for Lisi, who has a previous record for threatening and assaulting women, plus some minor drug-possession convictions.

Lisi was recently arrested at an Etobicoke plaza and charged with possession and trafficking of marijuana as part of Project Brazen 2, a probe of drug trafficking in Etobicoke that began when, according to a police document obtained by the Star, Lisi attempted to swap drugs for a cellphone stolen from a man described as his “associate.”

A source told the Star the associate is Ford, and two other sources said Ford’s phone went missing around that time in March.

An ongoing Star investigation has shown Lisi and Ford are close. Lisi has told people he has supplied drugs to Ford over the years, something the Star has not been able to verify. Lisi and Ford often attend Toronto Maple Leafs hockey games together.

Carol Peck, 75, a neighbor to the Lisi family, has said she has seen Ford routinely pay quick visits to Lisi four times a week.

When news was published of a video that appears to show Ford smoking crack cocaine, it was Lisi who went on the hunt for the video, the Star has previously reported, quoting a witness to Lisi’s attempt to find the man with the video.

Lisi has never spoken with the Star. But during the summer his lawyer, Basile, contacted the Star and said the Lisi family felt a reporter was harassing Lisi in attempts to interview him.

On the issue of the now infamous video, Ford has said he cannot comment on a video that “I have never seen or does not exist.”

Lisi’s most recent conviction — the one where the Ford letter of support comes into play — was in relation to an incident on Sept. 18, 2011.

According to the sentencing transcript, Lisi had been in a relationship with an Etobicoke woman for about a year.

The judge described Lisi as having a “controlling, manipulative relationship” with the woman.

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One day, a male friend of the woman was driving her home. According to the transcript, Lisi pulled up behind the man’s car. The woman was “scared” to see Lisi. He walked up to the man’s car, began punching the side-view mirror, and then bent the antenna.

The man got out of his vehicle, and Lisi took a swing at him. The man swung back and knocked Lisi to the ground. The man then ordered Lisi to stay down. Lisi got up and drove off in his car. The woman went to a police station and filed a report.

The judge, in his reasons for sentencing, does not describe exactly what Lisi said to the woman, but says he threatened to “cause the death” of the woman.

The sentencing hearing for the 2011 case took place in a Finch Ave. courthouse on June 14, 2013. Coincidentally, that was the same day and same court where people arrested in the guns and gangs probe known as Project Traveller appeared, after a massive sweep of the Dixon Rd. condominium complex where people involved in the crack video lived.

According to the transcript, the judge had a pre-sentence report to consider and several letters.

“There is, as well, a letter from Mr. Malfara (an uncle), who has employed Mr. Lisi from time to time, and a letter from Mayor Rob Ford, and a letter from the Westway Animal Clinic, indicating obligations of Mr. Lisi in relation to his dog,” according to the transcript.

The judge also considered “the fact that this was a serious offence, and it did have a serious impact on the victim.” In his reasons, the judge said the victim “impressed me as a person who was vulnerable.”

The judge does not say whether the Ford letter in any way affected his decision to release Lisi that day on two years’ probation. The Crown attorney had asked for two months in jail. The judge said the offence was serious enough to warrant a “custodial sentence,” but he determined that Lisi’s six months of “strict house arrest” and four days in custody while awaiting trial had already satisfied that requirement.

The judge gave him a suspended sentence with two years’ probation, plus orders to stay away from the woman and have no weapons in his possession. He was also ordered to attend the Partner Assault Response Program, which he had previously attended after another incident. Lisi was also told to seek academic or employment upgrading, or get a job. He was also required to submit a DNA sample for the national DNA databank.

Asked if he would have any problem complying with these rules, Lisi said, “No, your honour.”

Lisi has faced other serious charges in the past, laid by police for threatening and harassing other women, but most were withdrawn by the Crown attorneys on the case, court records show.

One 2001 case resulted in a conviction: Lisi was convicted of criminal harassment of a young woman and threatening the death of the woman’s male friend.