At 8:28 p.m. on May 16, the website Gawker published the first account of a video that appears to show Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine.
At 10:02 p.m. that night, a post appeared on an anonymous and little-noticed Twitter account, @PeeTeePeee.
“I may have to write a book,†PeeTeePeee wrote. In another post 24 minutes later, PeeTeePeee added, “I think it would be pretty good.â€
PeeTeePeee called himself “Municipal Man of Mystery†in a post on Aug. 29. The Star could not verify his identity. But evidence suggests he is Michael Prempeh, who worked for Ford as a special assistant from Sept. 5 until Friday.
If PeeTeePeee is Prempeh, his veiled musings over the last three weeks are the most candid statements yet offered by any member of the Ford team about the internal turmoil that has shaken the administration.
“There is WAAAAY more going on behind closed doors,†PeeTeePeee wrote Thursday afternoon.
That morning, the Star published a story that cited sources who said Ford told staffers not to worry about the video because he knew where it was. At 7:24 a.m., PeeTeePeee wrote, “Lmao [laughing my ass off] oh boy.†A minute later, he added, “This one just won't go away like the rest of them...â€
Mark Towhey, Ford’s chief of staff, was fired around 2 p.m. on May 23. Mere minutes after Towhey was escorted out of city hall, PeeTeePeee wrote, “This office has surpassed Young and the Restless.†He added, “At least I can say I was a part of history. This is some historical ish [slang for s---]." Then: “Oh my kids are going to hear alllll of this. Damn, I might even have to write a book.â€
Prempeh, in his mid-20s, was a top wide receiver for the University of Toronto and earlier for the Etobicoke Eagles. He grew up in a Rexdale apartment, the youngest child in a large family of Ghanaian descent. PeeTeePeee’s Twitter biography reads simply: “I’m just a dude trying to make it out of Rexdale.â€
On Sept. 4, a day before Prempeh began his new job as a junior Ford aide, PeeTeePeee wrote, “Tomorrow the beginning of something bigger and better begins.†Prempeh told senior staffers in early May that he planned to quit to focus on CAVE, a men’s magazine he runs with friends.
Prempeh’s biography page on the U of T football website says his nickname was “PTP80.†Prempeh is identified as @Peeteepeee in a photo on the CAVE Facebook page. The Instagram account @Peeteepeee includes a first-person caption on a photo of Prempeh playing football. Prempeh has had Facebook accounts under “Michael PTP Prempeh†and “Prempeh Peeteepee.†An acquaintance of Prempeh says the PeeTeePeee Twitter account indeed belongs to him.
Both the Twitter and Instagram accounts include a link to the CAVE website. PeeTeePeee exchanged tweets with another Ford staffer and responded to people who addressed messages to “Mikey†and to “Prempeh.†And an acquaintance sent PeeTeePeee a link to an article about Prempeh’s resignation, adding, “Look at you.â€
Prempeh did not respond to requests for comment. After the Star contacted Prempeh, PeeTeePeee tweeted “Stop snitching!†and, later, “The Art of Skullduggery.â€
A former Ford staffer who requested anonymity called Prempeh a “great guy†and a “very hard worker with good initiative and judgment†who thrived “even when under intense public scrutiny.â€
PeeTeePeee maintained a sense of humour even in writing about the Ford crisis. On May 22, he retweeted a post that read: “I need a public figure to do something ridiculous so I can record it and use the proceeds to pay off my OSAP.†He responded: “Now you thinking.â€
His mood appeared darker at other times. On May 27, 15 minutes before reporters learned Ford’s spokesmen had resigned, PeeTeePeee wrote: “JESUS!!!!†He added, “Bad news bears,†then, “All you can do is give a shoulder shrug and keep it moving.â€
On May 22, Councillor Doug Ford spoke to the media at length for the first time after the scandal erupted, giving a fiery speech about his brother’s policy record that was repeatedly interrupted by reporters seeking answers on the scandal.
Minutes before Doug Ford began, PeeTeePeee wrote, “These guys are actually savages.†He did not say who he was talking about. Less than 10 minutes after Ford finished, PeeTeePeee seemed ready to leave his job. “Wearing suits to work is cool and all,†he wrote, “but PEACE!!!â€
The next day, an acquaintance who saw PeeTeePeee’s “Young and the Restless†tweet asked whether she envies him or not. He responded: “You don’t. At all.â€
