Here's one former dealer's description of Doug's position in the suburban Toronto drug scene during the '80s: "Most people didn’t approach Doug looking for product. You went to the guys that he supplied. Because if Doug didn’t know you and trust you, he wouldn’t even roll down his window." Several others backed up the claim, saying that Doug sold "substantial" amounts of hash out of a mall parking lot near the family's home:

“If [Doug] wasn’t going out, someone would go down to the house and pick it up and bring it down to the Royal York Plaza,” said “Sheila,” adding that she was an RY Drifter who bought small quantities of hash from Mr. Ford, and knew him to supply street-level dealers. “If Doug wasn’t around, people … would sell it for him. It was an operation.” The quantities that Mr. Ford handled were, at times, substantial. “Michael” said he remembered buying hash from Doug Ford at least half a dozen times – before he found a cheaper source – and that each time he bought between one-quarter and one-half of a pound. He said that a quarter-pound sold for between $400 and $425.

Ford's other brother, Randy, also sold hash. A source recalled that a then 24-year-old Randy and two other men beat him and held him captive for ten hours over a debt. This was confirmed by police records, as well as one of the men involved in the incident. Another former associate said Doug was careful to keep his business separate from Randy's because he "knew his brother was just too volatile."

Ford's older sister, Kathy, has also been romantically involved with a string of convicted drug dealers and users, one of whom — Scott MacIntyre — threatened to murder the mayor at his house in 2012. (Previously, in 2005, he sent Kathy to the hospital with a gunshot to the face.) In the '80s, Kathy's ex-husband fatally shot her boyfriend. Globe and Mail sources said the boyfriend was a white supremacist, as were many of Kathy's friends during that time.

Ford is the youngest of his siblings by five years, so it seems he missed out on some of the really wild action as a kid: "Rob Ford was not a player in the Etobicoke drug trade," the Globe and Mail states. "Several sources said they saw him around his brothers as they were doing business, but they said he didn’t seem to be involved in a significant way." And obviously it's not fair to blame people for the insane things their family members do. (Really, though, we strongly suggest you read the entire wild story, because there's a lot more insanity there.) On the other hand, one doesn't need violent, drug dealing, white supremacist siblings to smoke crack on camera while running a city of 2.6 million people, which is what Rob Ford seems to have done.

A similar effort is taking place over at the Indy 500 where Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) COO Doug Boles said:

“The tragedy last month in Boston still resonates with everyone, so we wanted to give runners the chance to finish the race in front of thousands of fans who will appreciate their persistence and determination ... Everyone will remember the victims while also celebrating the strength and indomitable spirit of these special competitors as they cross the hallowed Yard of Bricks.”

IMS officials extended the invitation to the BAA and those in surrounding states and 35 additional runners from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Michigan answered the call. They'll all gather to finish their race on Sunday.

The drivers and passengers were taken to the hospital, as were the Union Pacific train's conductor and locomotive engineer, who were pulled from the wreckage. ("One was kind of bloody; the other one looked like he was pretty shook up," said a witness.) Somehow, six of the injured people have already been released, and the remaining one is reportedly in good condition. The accident occurred just a day after a truck crash lead to the collapse of an overpass near Seattle, and a week after dozens were injured after a Metro-North train derailed in Connecticut.

Catsimatidis, whose broadcast network buy was described as "six figures," accused Lhota of "lacking the financial resources to be credible." Lhota spokeswoman Jessica Proud countered that the "the election is not for sale" and defended Lhota as the "most qualified candidate of all the candidates in the race." Lhota's ad will run on cable, and Pound says only that the cost of it was "substantial." Both men are known as colorful personalities, and we look forward to seeing how they'll play on the small screen. 

"With the devastation of Sandy, we’re all a little nervous," said one Hamptons woman, Dayna Winter, who was sure to note that she didn't "want to come across as snooty" about the prospect of sharing a beach with Snooki. David E. Rattray, the third-generation editor of the East Hampton Star, told Rutenberg, "To us it’s one big blur of people from 'away.' That fear of Snooki thing may be the last people in pulling the ladder up behind them." It seems those fears are not unfounded: "Some local real estate agents have been approached by more young people than usual who are looking into share houses. Kieran Brew, a real estate agent, reported getting calls from people 'who got washed-out of the Jersey Shore,' adding, 'I don’t want to get anywhere near that sort of thing.'" And this doesn't even take Sandy's effect on the already-increasing numbers of "less obviously moneyed" day-trippers into account.

As the New York Daily News reports, Snooki, who is actually a Long Island native, was greeted less-than-warmly by Governor Chris Christie at the reopening of the Sandy-damaged Seaside Heights boardwalk yesterday. The negative interaction probably wasn't enough to drive her off the Shore permanently (Christie is a longtime critic), but perhaps it will inspire her to make the premise of this trend piece a reality for at least part of the summer.

In March, Horace Mann reached settlements "worth hundreds of thousands of dollars" with around 27 alumni who said they were abused, though the school didn't comment on the payouts at the time. And, last month, as the Times notes, the Bronx District Attorney's office said "that a 10-month investigation into the abuses identified at least 12 possible abusers." However, those people could not be prosecuted because the statue of limitations on the crimes has passed. 

The apology will hopefully grant some solace to the hundreds of former students who, prompted by the initial Times story, came forward online and elsewhere in the press to share their own disturbing tales of abuse. The letter promised to effectively remove board of trustee members who served when the allegations were ignored and announced the creation of a new student safety policy and advisory board. Still, it did not offer one of the victims' chief demands: an independent inquiry into the over 30-year period of abuse.

Instead, Horace Mann will release a report written by a private mediation firm summarizing the "inexcusable conduct" experienced by 31 victims who detailed their experiences to the school's current administration. The letter characterized the decision as a practical matter, since most of the abusers are now "dead or mentally infirm," or unwilling to respond to the allegations, which "the School does not have the authority to compel" them to do. But it also means the story of exactly what happened will probably never be fully told.

The embattled mayor then refused to take any questions and turned the floor over to his brother Doug before making as hasty of an exit as possible. The press conference comes a day after Ford fired his chief of staff, Mark Towhey, for reportedly taking the bold move of telling the mayor to come clean about his addiction. 

Hynes gave CBS unprecedented access, and Abe George, one of his opponents in the Brooklyn D.A. race, lobbed a lawsuit into Manhattan supreme court, arguing that airing the show would be in violation of fair election laws. The argument was a (very press-friendly) long shot, and a lawyer for George requested that e-mails between CBS producers and Hynes's prosecutors be turned over to determine if there were any arrangements made over issues like content and airtime.

“This is obviously a publicity push by a politician,” a CBS spokesman said, dismissing the suit as a media stunt. Many other legal minds were also of the same opinion — the First Amendment offers wide protection to news-gathering organizations like CBS to produce and air what they want and when they want.

But the judge hearing the case, Paul Wooten of Manhattan State Supreme Court, seems to have sympathy for George’s argument and the difficulty of running against an entrenched incumbent like Hynes. He might be the only judge that does: In 2005, Wooten was in the same position as George, running as an underdog against Hynes in the race for Brooklyn D.A. Wooten dropped out before even entering the primary because he couldn't raise enough money, a spokeswoman for his campaign said back then.

Late yesterday, after most of the courtrooms in Manhattan had closed, Wooten ordered that a hearing go forward. David Schulz, a lawyer for CBS, is incredulous that Wooten would not only entertain the idea but demand that CBS also turn over the e-mails overnight. 

“It’s just two days, two business days ... until the broadcast,” Schulz argued, according to a transcript.

“Got it,” Wooten replied. “I got your argument, that you believe it’s irrelevant. I’m not so sure the court agrees ...”

“Judge, that’s completely unacceptable and it would be unconstitutional,” Schulz said. Wooten wasn’t interested. 

Of course, this is precisely the kind of chaotic legal mess that might ensue after a public office gives a TV network so much access during a campaign season. But when I asked Hynes recently if he was worried about such issues, he shrugged them off: ‘Did I think for a moment, ‘Gee this could be a disaster.’ Yeah. I’ve been around long enough to understand the practical.”

Ironically, that very comment was included in a letter to Wooten arguing for the hearing. Aaron Rubin, a lawyer representing George, wrote: “Perhaps most troubling, Hynes has publicly suggested that he agreed with CBS to produce Brooklyn D.A. even after considering the foreseeable and highly questionable aspects of the show.”

Wooten’s decision to go forward with a hearing and not toss out George’s legal papers like junk mail had some longtime Brooklyn court and political watchers in awe. “He’s actually going to hear this?” one veteran defense attorney texted me, after hearing the news. Even George told me he was surprised at how favorable Wooten was to his arguments: "I didn't know where the politics would lead us, but he [Wooten] knows how tough it is to raise money."

Not only does Wooten plan to hear arguments in the case, he ordered the e-mails to be turned over later this morning. The hearing is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

Update: The show goes on. After a long day in two courts, a judge has finally ruled the CBS series Brooklyn DA can air on Tuesday night. Early in the morning, CBS's lawyers raced to an appeals court to prevent their producers from testifying; after those attempts failed, the show's producers, Susan Zirinisky and Patti Aronofsky, testified under oath in Manhattan Supreme Court late into the afternoon. At issue was whether the office of Brooklyn district attorney Joe Hynes was given preferential treatment in exchange for access during the middle of an election.

After the producers testified, Judge Wooten denied the injunction, allowing the controversial show to air.

The legal battle over the show isn't over. Wooten still plans to rule on the essence of the lawsuit — whether the show violates fair election laws — on Tuesday.