There have now been denials in the case of "Who Offered to Bribe John Nunziata?"

First off, Joe Quimby -- running on the Comedy Network ticket -- has disclaimed any involvement. His press release says:

"Diamond" Joe Quimby flat-out denies being the individual that allegedly offered a six-figure bribe to opponent John Nunziata to withdraw his candidacy for Toronto's mayor, he announced today.

"Hey, I'm in the business of taking bribes, not making them," the "colourful" candidate said.

Meanwhile, Harold Peerenboom -- Nunziata's former boss -- has denied any inappropriate conduct in his dealings between John Tory and John Nunziata. In today's National Post:

"It is no question that over many, many months, there were conversations between all of us -- John Tory, myself and John Nunziata -- that what was in everyone's interest was the best interests of Toronto. And, at some point, if it became apparent that one of the two candidates was not doing well, they could pull out and support the other," he said. "John [Nunziata] came to my office recently and said, 'I never made a deal,' and I said, 'Fine, John. You have to do what you think is in the best interests of the city.' But there was never anything untoward."

A member of Mr. Nunziata's campaign team confirmed last night that there had been ongoing negotiations between Mr. Nunziata and Mr. Tory, even after the two men had filed their nomination papers.

For those of you who don't know, Joe Quimby is a fictional character on The Simpsons. He's the mayor of Springfield. "Known to viewers of The Simpsons as 'an illiterate, tax-cheating, wife-swapping, pot-smoking, spend-o-crat,' Quimby says he has cleaned up his act. 'I am no longer illiterate,' he said."

And, for those of you who don't know, Harold Peerenboom was Tom Jakobek's alibi when he lied about not being on the MFP junket to Philadelphia.

Offered, for your reading pleasure, without comment.

DISCLOSURE: After a serious decision-making process, I joined the Miller-for-mayor campaign a few weeks ago. However, all comments on this website are my own, and do not necessarily represent the views of David Miller or his campaign. My role in the campaign is grunt-level and I haven't even met the strategists.

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