The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of Anton “Tony” Lazzaro, the formerly well-connected Republican donor convicted of giving teenage girls gifts, alcohol and money in exchange for sex.
On Monday, the high court turned away Lazzaro with no comment. In February, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also denied his appeal.
Anton Lazzaro
In August 2023, Lazzaro was sentenced to 21 years in prison on federal sex trafficking convictions. He was convicted of seven counts involving “commercial sex acts” with five girls ages 15 and 16 in 2020, when Lazzaro was 30. The charges carried mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years with a maximum of life in prison.
Prosecutors had requested a 30-year sentence for Lazzaro. They likened Lazzaro to financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 on federal charges accusing him of paying underage girls for massages and then abusing them at his homes in Florida and New York. The defense asked for no more than 10 years.
Lazzaro, who has said the charges against him were politically motivated, maintained his innocence, denying that he paid any of the girls explicitly for sex.
Lazzaro’s indictment in 2021 touched off a political firestorm that led to the downfall of Jennifer Carnahan as chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota.
His co-defendant, Gisela Castro Medina, who was 19 at the time, formerly led the College Republicans chapter at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. She pleaded guilty to two counts last year. She testified against Lazzaro and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Prosecutors argued during his trial that Lazzaro enlisted Castro Medina, who he initially paid for sex, to recruit other teenagers — preferably minors — who were white, small, vulnerable or “broken.” He often sent cars to take the girls to his luxury penthouse condo at the Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis, they said.
Pictures on Lazzaro’s social media accounts showed him with prominent Republicans, including President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. He gave more than $270,000 to Republican campaigns and political committees over the years. Several recipients quickly donated those contributions to charity after the charges became public.
The sources of Lazzaro’s wealth have been murky. Defense filings called him “an up-and-coming real estate owner and entrepreneur.” Items seized from him included a 2010 Ferrari and more than $371,000 in cash.
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