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“I’d known Fab (Basso, who lived in that house) for 20 plus years. He went to high school with my two brothers. I had a little bit of an interaction with his sister, (Elena Basso). I only knew her as Princess. She said something like, ‘Get the F out of here. F you this and that. Oh, I’m taping you.’ So then she threw the phone at me. I was probably in there for a minute. The police are interested that I went there. But I didn’t threaten anyone, I arrived there to try to find out some information. Based on Princess’s reaction, she probably had something to do with (the crack tape).”

In November when city council cut Ford’s staff in half and removed his powers, Price lost his job.

Fast forward to one year ago: May 2014. Rob Ford finally agreed to enter rehab. Price says Doug and Rob agreed at that time that Rob would run in Ward 2 and Doug would run for mayor. The mayor changed his mind when a Toronto Sun poll found voters preferred Doug to Rob for mayor.

“He was at rehab. He had backed out. I did my utmost to try to talk him into going back into the deal, and he said ‘No, that’s it, I’m running.’

“Rob’s got an inferiority complex. Doug’s his older brother. Doug and I won two football championships and he was forever living that one down. Rob won once when he was in junior and never when he was in senior. He got to the finals four times, never won. The fact that Doug might have done what he couldn’t do just didn’t sit well with him at all.”

In September doctors diagnosed the mayor with cancer. Rob and Doug did switch places. Price, Doug’s campaign manager for council in 2010, earned commission raising money for the Fords in 2010 and 2014. Had the Fords switched places in May Doug could have won, he says.