31st Mar 2023

Anton Lazzaro trial: Lazzaro allegedly referenced Jeffrey Epstein in text messages

UPDATE: MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - It took a federal jury only a few hours to decide Anton Lazzaro was guilty of all counts against him, capping off an eight-day trial that followed a two-and-a-half-year investigation and legal case.

Lazzaro, 32, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and five counts of sex trafficking of minors.

By Matt Sepic, MPRNews

A former friend of one-time Minnesota Republican Party operative and key donor Anton “Tony” Lazzaro gave the FBI text messages and other new evidence on the evening before prosecutors cross-examined Lazzaro in his federal sex trafficking trial.

Lazzaro, 32, is charged with engaging in commercial sex acts with five girls who were 15 and 16 years old at the time of the alleged offenses in 2020. Prosecutors allege that Lazzaro paid his co-defendant, Gisela Castro Medina, 21, around $50,000 to groom and recruit much younger sex partners for him.

Castro Medina pleaded guilty and testified against Lazzaro last week.

Lazzaro took the stand in his own defense Tuesday and Wednesday. Under questioning from his attorney Daniel Gerdts, Lazzaro admitted that he had sex with the teens, but he denied that the cash and gifts that he gave the girls were in exchange for sex.

Because Lazzaro waived his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda Williams was allowed to cross examine him.

Prosecutors received some help late Tuesday, when Charles Bittman, a former friend and business associate of Lazzaro, provided the government with text messages, video and photos that jurors had not seen during the prior five days of testimony.

Williams then displayed a message from Lazzaro where he wrote “This girl is coming over but it’s almost 3 a.m. See why I use Gisela/recruiters/SA?,” a reference to SeekingArrangement, a “sugar daddy” website that connects typically wealthy men with younger partners.

A photo that Bittman sent the FBI that was mentioned in previous testimony but not shown until Wednesday shows three girls naked and face down on Lazzaro’s bed. Lazzaro previously described the image as a selfie.

“Mr. Lazzaro, I’m not going to keep this up very long, but that ain’t a selfie,” Williams said.

“No, it’s not a selfie,” Lazzaro responded.

“You sent this to your friend to brag?” Williams asked.

“Yes,” Lazzaro answered.

Showing another photo, Williams asked, “You said this was not an exchange of sex for money, do you remember that testimony?

Lazzaro responded that he did, before Williams asked, “Is that cash in her underwear?” 

By Rob Olson, FOX9

Surprise evidence in the federal sex trafficking trial of Anton Lazzaro was introduced by prosecutors as they began cross-examining the 32-year-old, during his second day on the witness stand in his own defense.

Lazzaro, 32, is charged with sex trafficking of minors. Five alleged victims under 18 testified against him, saying they were interested in meeting him only because of the promise of gifts, cash and alcohol. They testified they had sex with Lazzaro only because he would pay them.

Lazzaro repeatedly denied those claims while answering very direct questions by a prosecutor, who time and again asked Lazzaro about paying the teen girls for sex.

"Specifically, you liked 15 and 16-year-old girls, is that right?" prosecutors questioned. "No, that’s not right," he replied.

"You liked 15 and 16-year-old girls sexually?"

"No," he reasserted.

Lazzaro admitted to having sex with the five alleged victims and admitted to giving them gifts and hundreds of dollars in cash. He insisted they were not connected.

"I did not pay them," he testified. "I gave them gifts that they asked for."

He also said that Gisela Castro Medina, who pled guilty in December and testified against Lazzaro in exchange for leniency, did not act as a recruiter for him.

"I never remember any conversation ever about her being a recruiter," Lazzaro said.

Castro Medina testified that she would reach out to girls on Snapchat and tell them her Sugar Daddy wanted to meet them, sometimes following that up with a picture of a shirtless Lazzaro holding a large stack of money.

"I would not call her a recruiter," he said. "She was a friend who had a lot of hot friends."

The new evidence came from a tip that prosecutors received Tuesday night from a former Lazzaro business associate in Texas. Federal agents retrieved his phone and extracted records of messages between the man and Lazzaro.

In one of the exchanges, Lazzaro refers to using a "recruiter."

Other messages included pictures and videos of the alleged victims drinking and dancing at his Minneapolis condominium. Some of the alleged victims testified Lazzaro got them very drunk.

Another text exchange showed Lazzaro sent a message saying "poor Jeff," followed by another saying "RIP my brother" next to a blurry picture prosecutors believe is Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious sex trafficker of teenage girls. The messages were sent on the one-year anniversary of Epstein’s death.

Lazzaro said he didn’t remember these, but that he was not pro-Epstein, but rather anti-government, referring to conspiracy theories about how Epstein died.

Closing arguments in the trial could come as soon as Thursday.

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The nonprofit organization End Violence Against Women International began the national Start By Believing Campaign in 2011, to promote positive responses to sexual assault survivors who disclose. As the campaign’s name suggests, a statement of belief can have a huge impact on sexual assault survivors, and can influence their decision whether or not to disclose their sexual assault again. Start By Believing also provides more tips on what to say and what not to say when someone confides in you they’ve been sexually assaulted.

Do yourself a favor. Think for yourself. Be your own person. Question everything. Stand for principle. Champion individual liberty and self-ownership where you can. Develop a strong moral code. Be kind to others. Do no harm, unless that harm is warranted. Pretty obvious stuff...but people who hold to these things in their hearts seem to be disappearing from the earth at an accelerated rate. Stay safe, my friends. Thanks for being here.

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