A U.S. District Court judge on Tuesday refused to release a 31-year-old Republican donor from custody as he awaits trial for federal child sex trafficking charges, according to the Forum News Service.
Judge Patrick J. Schiltz ordered Anton "Tony" Lazzaro, a major Minnesota GOP donor and strategist, to remain in custody, citing allegations against the defendant.
In the order, Schiltz wrote, "The Court is unable to identify any set of conditions that will reasonably assure that Lazzaro will not continue in his efforts to influence his alleged victims and threaten and intimidate government officials."
Schiltz wrote that Lazzaro had attempted to "obstruct the government's investigation" by persuading "one of the victims and that victim's parent" to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for $1,000. Lazzaro also allegedly told a Minneapolis police officer he knew where he lived and tried to collect personal information on an FBI agent involved in the investigation.
"There is no legitimate reason — none — for Lazzaro to be collecting home addresses and other personal information about the law enforcement officers involved in his case," Schiltz wrote.
Lazzaro faces 10 charges for allegedly recruiting six minors for sexual purposes. "He is a perverted narcissistic sex offender," the mother of one alleged victim said in court.
Local news outlet Fox9 noted that Lazzaro had posed with a number of Republican politicians, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. "He posed shirtless sitting in his red Ferrari, lived in a luxury downtown Minneapolis condo with penthouse views, and flew by private jet. He posted pictures of himself often with young, beautiful women."
'Perverted narcissistic' GOP strategist to remain in jail as he awaits child sex trafficking trialwww.youtube.com
