Anton Lazzaro: 'Minnesota's Jeffrey Epstein' convicted of trafficking 'broken' minors after bribing them with Everclear
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: A prominent Republican strategist, who frequently boasted about his riches online, was convicted of sex trafficking minors in Minneapolis. Prosecutors referred to Anton Lazzaro as "Minneapolis' Jeffrey Epstein" because he was charged with exploiting "broken" young females, bribing them with Everclear and paying tens of thousands of dollars for having sex with them.
The 32-year-old, who once posted a photo of Epstein with the caption "RIP my brother," was accused by defense attorneys of attempting to "fix" the high school students and even hiring one as a recruiter. One girl sobbed in court as she said, "My innocence was stolen from me," and added that she took three showers a day after her encounter with the prominent Republican strategist. Many of the survivors reportedly said that they battled drug and alcohol addictions, and all were characterized as being mostly White and slender.
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What did Anton Lazzaro admit?
Lazzaro admitted to having sex with his victims in 2020, when he was 30, but said he did not seek them out. He was found guilty of seven counts involving five females who were between the ages of 15 and 16 on Friday, March 31. He now faces between 10 years to life in prison. Kira Costal, his 21-year-old present girlfriend, gave testimony in his defence, per Daily Mail.
Lazzaro had previously referred to himself as a "next-generation Republican" with "more modernized views" who was working to make the party more accepting of women and LGBTQIA+ groups. According to the Federal Election Commission, he contributed to the Republican party for almost 10 years. He donated more than $270,000 to political groups and campaigns and he worked as a campaign manager for GOP candidate Lacy Johnson's failed 2020 race. Johnson denied knowing about Lazzaro's exploits as he stated, "I don't know that side of Tony. He's young, he's got money, and… that tends to attract females."
'Lazzaro trusts he will be vindicated'
The jurors will reportedly return to court on Monday, April 3, to decide what assets the government can seize in light of each conviction. As per a spokesperson, Lazzaro intended to fight the charges against him because he believed they were politically motivated. "The unusual application of this federal sex trafficking statute to his activities is frighteningly broad, conflating what is nothing more than arguably an act of prostitution with federal sex trafficking," Stacy Bettison stated, adding, "He believes he has strong grounds for appeal, and he will vigorously seek reversal of his conviction. Mr Lazzaro trusts he will be vindicated," per The Guardian.
After the verdict, Assistant Attorney Melinda Williams reportedly said that Lazzaro was a threat to every family with a daughter, labelling him as "Minnesota's Jeffrey Epstein," as per MPR.