Appeals court upholds sex trafficking conviction against ex-GOP operative Lazzaro
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A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a Minnesota jury’s sex trafficking conviction of Anton “Tony” Lazzaro, a former Republican Party operative and major donor.
Lazzaro was convicted in 2023 of abusing multiple teenage girls under the age of 18. He and an accomplice lured the girls to a Minneapolis penthouse apartment with alcohol, money and inducements that included expensive purses, phones, cosmetics and vape pens.
Lazzaro is serving a 21-year prison sentence.
At the time of Lazzaro’s arrest, the charges rocked the state Republican Party given Lazzaro’s big financial contributions and his ties to GOP leaders, all of whom denied knowledge of his sexual misconduct.
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Lazzaro appealed his conviction by arguing the laws he was charged under were constitutionally vague and that there were flaws in his trial.
In the appeal, Lazzaro argued two jurors didn’t disclose that they had family members who were involved in sexual assault advocacy organizations or who voiced support for the #MeToo movement to expose sexual harassers.
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals found that none of the points warranted a new trial, and flatly rejected Lazzaro’s contention that the acts involved didn’t amount to commercial sex trafficking.
“A person of ordinary intelligence would know that flaunting cash and valuables to minors, plying those minors with alcohol and drugs, and paying them in cash or valuables after sex could ‘cause’ those minors to engage in a commercial sex act,” Judge Bobby Shepherd wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel.
As to the assertions that prosecutors and jurors acted unfairly, the appeals panel said none substantially affected Lazzaro’s rights or were enough to overturn the conviction. The ruling noted that some of the complaints raised came in well after the 10-day trial, and other objections were dealt with properly during the trial.
If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation with a partner, there is a 24-hour statewide domestic and sexual violence hotline. You can call Minnesota Day One at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995.
