Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he had no idea three men he posed with for a picture at last weekend's Buffalo Bills football game had ties to the Hells Angels.

"I don't check for people's credentials and ask for resumes before I take a picture. I take pictures with every single person that wants to take a picture with me," Mr. Ford said Tuesday when asked about the picture which has been posted in the photo gallery of the Hells Angels Toronto website.

In the picture the three men are surrounding the mayor, two with their arms around him and one appears to be wearing a large necklace with the Hells Angel logo.

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Mr. Ford, who has gained international attention as "Toronto's crack smoking mayor," caused a sensation Sunday when he arrived at the game at the Rogers Centre. He told reporters he must have posed for 1,000 pictures that day – before kickoff, during the first half where he caused a commotion in the VIP section, at halftime and in a box where he was taken to watch the second half.

This is not the first time Mr. Ford's habit of posing for pictures has raised questions about his associates. Earlier this year a picture surfaced of Mr. Ford outside a house police have identified as a crack house with three alleged members of the Dixon City Bloods, a notorious Etobicoke street gang.