A former Republican political strategist and party donor was found guilty this week of sex trafficking 15 and 16 year old girls.

The jury deliberated for a little more than three hours before returning a guilty verdict for Anton Lazzaro, 32, on seven counts involved “commercial sex acts” with five minors, WCCO reported.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Lazzaro was arrested in August 2021 on charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, sex trafficking of minors, attempted sex trafficking of a minor, and obstruction.

The arrest came months after the FBI raided his Minneapolis condo in December 2020, when they seized nearly $400,000 in cash, foreign currency, gold bars, a GPS tracker, thumb drives, numerous electronic devices including more than a dozen cell phones, and his Ferrari.

Lazzaro’s trial began last week and concluded on Friday. His attorneys released a statement after the conviction saying they planned to appeal and saying the charges against him conflated “what is nothing more than arguably an act of prostitution with federal sex trafficking.” The statement said he “trusts he will be vindicated” on appeal.

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[Featured image: Anton Lazzaro/handout]