Anton Lazzaro, a former Minnesota GOP political operative, was discovered responsible of kid intercourse trafficking costs Friday in U.S. District Courtroom in Minneapolis. File Picture by Tony Webster/Wikimedia Commons
April 1 (UPI) — A federal jury in Minnesota has discovered Anton Lazzaro, a former Republican Social gathering donor and political strategist, responsible on intercourse trafficking costs involving a pair of youngsters.
Prosecutors known as the case in opposition to Lazzaro “the face of modern-day intercourse trafficking,” after his conviction on conspiring to recruit and pay 15-year-old and 16-year-old women for intercourse.
Lazzaro, 32, who as soon as reduce a high-profile determine as a Minnesota GOP political operative and affiliate of then-state get together chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan, was discovered responsible on all counts.
Through the trial, Lazzaro admitted he had intercourse with all of the underage women, however denied paying for or recruiting them.
Prosecutors argued he met co-defendant Gisela Castro Medina, 21, on an internet site connecting rich males with youthful companions and that he then paid her to recruit 5 alleged underage victims, all of whom testified in opposition to him in the course of the trial.
Medina has already pleaded responsible and is because of be sentenced in August.
Investigators contended the plot occurred in 2020, beginning in Might in a condominium in downtown Minneapolis. FBI officers raided the condominium in December of that yr.
The jury deliberated for under two hours earlier than making a choice.
“Anton Lazzaro is a hazard to each household with a daughter and to everybody who believes in frequent decency,” Assistant U.S. Legal professional Melinda Williams instructed reporters following the decision.
A sentencing date has not but been set however Lazzaro faces a compulsory 10-year minimal sentence.
Lazzaro intends to attraction and “trusts he can be vindicated,” his spokesperson, Stacy Bettison, mentioned after the decision.