Toronto mayor Rob Ford broke conflict of interest rules and will be removed from office, a judge ruled this morning.

The case revolved around Ford participating in a city council vote last February about questionable donations to his private football charity.

Ford is accused of violating the municipal Conflict of Interest Act when he voted on whether he should pay back over $3,000 in donations to his charity, which he allegedly solicited when he was a councillor.

Ford has argued that he did not know he was in conflict of interest.

The allegations stem from a speech and council vote on Feb. 7 to strike down a recommendation that he repay more than $3,000 in donations for his private football foundation. The funds were solicited using the official city letterhead and the time of city staffers.

Ford admitted that at the time, he didn’t think he had violated any rules when he used his staff in 2010 to help him stuff envelopes and address them to potential donors, some of whom were lobbyists who often did business with the city.

He added that the envelopes and stationery had been paid with his personal account.

But the city’s integrity commissioner, Janet Leiper, found Ford’s actions broke the conduct code for councillors.

She recommended Ford pay back $3,150 to the donors.

Council adopted the commissioner’s findings and sanction in a resolution Ford voted against, but he never made the repayments, despite six reminders from the commissioner.

Ford testified that following the commissioner’s decision, he sent letters to the 11 donors offering to pay their money back.

Some had refused the reimbursement, while others did not respond, he said.