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Rob Ford adds former sprinter Ben Johnson and Sam Tarasco of 'Trailer Park Boys' to campaign team

Johnson lost 1988 Olympic gold medal after testing positive for a banned substance.

By Evan Bleier
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TORONTO, April 9 (UPI) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has enlisted the help of two more people to assist him with his bid for reelection -- a former sprinter with ties to steroids, and an actor from a TV show about trailer park life.

Ben Johnson and Sam Tarasco join Ford’s brother and campaign manager, Doug Ford, as part of the mayor’s team.

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Johnson was stripped of a gold medal he won at the 1988 Summer Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance. The Canadian athlete was banned from competing for life following a second failed test in 1993.

“You know what? I support Ben 100 percent,” Ford told the Toronto Star. “We’ve all made mistakes in life. I’ve supported him from day one. And that’s the bottom line.”

On Trailer Park Boys, Tarasco plays Sam Losco, a character who is often part of illegal activities that involve drugs and guns -- as are many of the other characters on the show.

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Tarasco also works for an events company called The Substance Group, and he was responsible for setting up the get-together.

“As we obviously got to talking about the project, personal lives come out, all that kind of stuff, and they seemed to kind of bond,” said Substance Group owner Neil Forester.

Neither Johnson nor Tarasco revealed why they had chosen to endorse Ford.

[Toronto Star]

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