Lisi appeared at Old City Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
An associate of Rob Ford who was arrested on drug charges Tuesday night has been released on bail.
Alessandro Lisi was scooped up in a raid on an Etobicoke dry cleaner and charged with trafficking marijuana, possession of marijuana, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, and possession of the proceeds of crime.
The Toronto Star has reported that Lisi occasionally serves as Mayor Ford's driver, and alleged that he told three people he had supplied Ford with drugs. NOW Magazine spotted him outside Ford's home the day after the Star published its bombshell story alleging he had been caught on video smoking crack cocaine.
Lisi, who is 35, appeared in a main-floor courtroom at Old City Hall on Wednesday afternoon and was released on $5,000 bail. The details of the hearing are under a publication ban, but the conditions of his release include living at a designated address under the supervision of a surety (who was not named by the court), owning only one cell phone, and having no contact with his co-accused, Jamshid Bahrami.
Lisi is due back in court on November 12 at 9 am.
Bahrami, 47, is the owner of Richview Cleaners at 250 Wincott Drive, and was arrested with Lisi at approximately 7:15 pm Tuesday. He has been charged with possession of cocaine, three counts of marijuana trafficking, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Lisi's lawyer, Courtney Keystone, said she could not comment as she left the courtroom with a white-haired man who asked not to be identified.
Earlier on Wednesday, at a press conference at a gas station near his home, Rob Ford said he was "shocked" to learn of Lisi's arrest.
"I'm surprised. I'm very surprised, and it's before the courts, obviously I can't say much," he said.
When a journalist told Ford that it had been reported that he visits Lisi's home as frequently as two or three times a week, the mayor simply said "'Kay."
Pressed further, he replied, "He's a friend. There's nothing - he's a good guy, and I don't throw my friends under the bus. Like I said, he's straight and narrow, I've never once seen the guy drink. I've never seen him once do drugs. So I'm surprised, I'm actually shocked."
The mayor also criticized the media for staking out his property Wednesday morning, as he prepared to make an official three-day visit to Austin, Texas.
"I don't go to your front door, don't go to my front door. I have kids," he said. "That's pretty low if you ask me. That's very low."
Rob Ford has denied that he uses crack cocaine and one week after the video allegations surfaced said, "I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist."