In March, a federal jury found Anton “Tony” Lazzaro guilty of seven counts of “commercial sex acts” with five girls ages 15 and 16 in 2020, when Lazzaro was 30. The charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
The prosecution requested 30 years in prison for Lazzaro, whom he compared to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was arrested in 2019 and accused of sexually abusing girls. The defense asked for a maximum of 10 years. Judge Patrick Schiltz went down the middle.
Lazzaro, who insists on his innocence and describes the accusations against him as a political process, plans to appeal the sentence.
“It was just as we expected,” defense attorney Daniel Gerdts said. “We’ll appeal it.”
The case against Lazzaro launched in 2021 sparked a political controversy that led to the resignation of Jennifer Carnahan as chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota.
Another defendant, Gisela Castro Medina, who was 19 at the time, was president of the Republican club at the University of St. Thomas. She pleaded guilty to two charges last year. She testified against Lazzaro and will be sentenced in September.
The prosecution argued during the trial that Lazzaro enlisted the help of Medina, whom he initially paid in exchange for sex, to recruit other teenage girls who were supposed to be white, small and vulnerable. She used to send cars to take the girls to her luxurious penthouse at the Ivy Hotel in Minneapolis, according to prosecutors.
Gerdts had argued that the “lascivious” accusations were based on “totally baseless” allegations. Lazzaro denies paying for sex and says the government is after him for political reasons and his money.
Carnahan, the widow of Minnesota Rep. Jim Hagedorn, resigned last week after the allegations against Lazzaro were unsealed. She denies knowing of any illegality and condemned Lazzaro’s alleged crimes. But the donor’s arrest sparked anger among party members and allegations surfaced that Carnahan created a toxic work environment and used confidentiality agreements to silence her critics.
___
Trisha Ahmed is a contributor to the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit program that assigns journalists to newsrooms to report on under-reported issues. Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
