Minneapolis, MN
Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis made no effort to protect Anton Lazzaro’s sex trafficking victims, lawsuit claims
MINNEAPOLIS — The former owners of a downtown Minneapolis hotel are being sued for allegedly letting former GOP donor Anton “Tony” Lazzaro sex-traffic underage girls at his condominium inside the hotel.
The lawsuit filed in federal district court on Monday claims that the Hotel Ivy and Residences made no effort to protect the teen girls who were sex trafficked by Lazzaro at his condo on the 19th floor of the Ivy Tower in 2020.
Lazzaro was sentenced to 21 years in prison for sex trafficking five minors ages 15 and 16 when he was 30 years old. Lazzaro paid teenagers for sex with money and gifts, according to federal prosecutors. He also would supply them with drugs and alcohol to the point many were visibly intoxicated and had to be helped leaving the hotel, according to the recent lawsuit.
Since then, the hotel has changed ownership. In a statement to WCCO, the counsel for the defendants in the lawsuit — Heartland Ivy Partners LLC, Ivy Equity Partners LLC, and Wischermann Partners, Inc. — called the claims “meritless” and said the defendants will “vigorously defend themselves” in court. The counsel also clarified that the Hotel Ivy and Ivy Residences are “separate and distinct pieces of real estate,” and that Lazzaro’s activities occurred at his condo at the Ivy Residences, which is located in the same building as the Hotel Ivy.
Minnesota law requires all owners, managers and on-site employees of hotels in the state to take sex trafficking training annually. The training — developed by the Minnesota Department of Health in partnership with Hospitality Minnesota — includes a virtual presentation, a companion guide, a manager and owner training toolkit and a poster set. The lawsuit claims that despite this training, the staff at Hotel Ivy made no effort to protect the girls trafficked by Lazzaro.
The front office manager testified during Lazzaro’s trial that the girls who came to see Lazzaro at his condo appeared to be “significantly younger” than 19 and looked closer to 16 or 17, according to the lawsuit. The victims allegedly were instructed to ask the hotel staff to escort them to a private elevator to access Lazzaro’s condo and would often show up late at night.
“There was a pattern of teenage girls arriving late at night to Hotel Ivy, visiting Lazzaro, and leaving a short time later intoxicated. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that something sinister and criminal was occurring,” attorney Molly Burke said.
The lawsuit also claims one girl and her father informed the staff at Hotel Ivy that Lazzrro sex-trafficked teen girls and asked them to help get the girl’s sister out of his condo, but the staff said they could not do anything.
“It’s about the scope and the breadth of this problem, not just in the Twin Cities and not just at the Ivy Hotel, the scene of the crime, but across the state and across this nation,” attorney Jeff Anderson said. “It’s time for all of us to start to see, to start to watch and then do something about it — something the Ivy Hotel staff failed miserably to do.”
FBI agents raided Lazzaro’s Hotel Ivy condo in December 2020. Investigators seized nearly $400,000 in cash, along with foreign currency and bars believed to be gold. They found a GPS tracker, thumb drives, laptops, tablets and more than a dozen cellphones. Agents also confiscated his Ferrari.
The uncovering of Lazzaro’s actions led to fallout within the Minnesota Republican Party. He’d given the party about $190,000 and was connected to the then-chair, Jennifer Carnahan. There were cries for Carnahan to resign from within the Minnesota GOP. She stepped down a week after the charges against Lazzaro were unsealed.
Lazzaro’s co-defendant, Gisela Castro Medina, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and one count of obstruction.
Court documents say Castro Medina recruited and brought the victims to Lazzaro’s condo. Lazzaro would then compensate Castro Medina with payments for rent, tuition, utilities and travel expenses after he had sex with them.
Note: The video above originally aired on Aug. 9, 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man who admitted to firing the shots that killed an 18-year-old mother in south Minneapolis back in May 2020 is charged with murder.
The criminal complaint names Malcom Chan Johnson, 33, of Minneapolis, as a suspect in the fatal shooting after he told police he didn’t know there was a woman in the car he was shooting at.
The shooting claimed the life of Arionna Buckanaga, who was set to graduate high school a month after she was shot.
READ MORE: Vigil held for woman shot in vehicle in south Minneapolis
Man charged for 2020 shooting death of Arionna Buckanaga
Fatal shooting:
Court documents show the shooting happened near the intersection of 39th Street East and Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis at about 11:25 p.m. on May 4, 2020.
Officers found Arionna in the driver’s seat of a crashed Ford Mustang, with a gunshot wound to her head. She died at the hospital days later.
Her boyfriend, who was a passenger in the Mustang, told police he did not know who shot at the vehicle.
Investigation:
The criminal complaint states officers found an abandoned Chevy Suburban with bullet holes in the hood about a mile-and-a-half away from the scene of the shooting. The bullet holes appeared to be consistent with the driver of the vehicle shooting over the hood and accidentally striking the vehicle.
Investigators also found 32 shell casings at the scene of the shooting. About two weeks later, police found two Glock 9mm handguns in a compost bin about eight blocks away from the shooting. Law enforcement officials determined the two guns fired the 32 shots.
DNA swabs taken from the Suburban were found to match Malcom Chan Johnson and another man, Namiri Tanner. Tests on the firearms also revealed a mixture of DNA that also matched Tanner.
Court documents say authorities then spoke to a witness on March 20, 2025, who told them Johnson confessed to the shooting and that Johnson had a “gang feud” with Arionna’s boyfriend.
Confession:
Police then spoke to Namiri Tanner, who is in a federal prison in Kentucky.
The complaint states Tanner confessed to shooting at the Mustang and from the passenger’s seat and said that Johnson was shooting from the driver’s seat, firing over the hood. Tanner added that the two men abandoned the Suburban and ditched the guns in a trash can.
Authorities then interviewed Johnson on March 4, 2026. He admitted driving the Suburban and firing one of the guns.
Johnson said he thought Arionna’s boyfriend was in the Mustang, but didn’t know she was as well, and said he did not mean to kill her, according to the complaint.
What we don’t know:
It’s unclear if Tanner will face charges in the case. Tanner is being held in federal prison on a drug case. However, it appears he is due to be released next month.
The Source: This story uses information from a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Court and previous FOX 9 reporting.
The semi-tractors that were on fire in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Early Saturday, the Minneapolis Fire Department responded to several semi-tractors on fire in a railyard.
Crews respond to fires and explosions
What we know:
Firefighters arrived at the railyard at 29th Avenue Northeast and Central Avenue Northeast around 12:15 a.m. They found six semi-tractors fully engulfed in flames.
Authorities say the railroad company confirmed that there were no hazardous materials in the area, and Xcel Energy was contacted to shut down a nearby electrical line exposed to the fire.
The fire came under control in about 20 minutes, fire officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries reported in the incident.
What we don’t know:
The exact cause of the fire remains unknown as investigations continue.
The Source: Information from the Minneapolis Fire Department.
Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby. (Supplied)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis lawmaker is a new mother this week after taking an unusual ride to deliver the baby.
Minneapolis bicycle baby delivery
Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby. (Supplied)
Big picture view:
Representative Katie Jones is a Minneapolis Democrat, and she usually takes the light rail or a bicycle to the Minnesota State Capitol because she doesn’t own a car.
So when it was time to give birth, she and her husband loaded themselves into a friend’s cargo e-bike, with Jones riding in the sidecar.
They had also packed an infant car seat, so after their son, Hans, was born, they packed him into the bike as well for the ride home.
Jones thanked the city of Minneapolis for having protected bike lanes that she says made the two-mile ride feel safe.
Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby. (Supplied)
The Source: This story uses information gathered by FOX 9 reporter Corin Hoggard.
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