The GOP is a Party of projection. Nearly two years ago to the day after being arrested for child sex trafficking, a major GOP donor federal prosecutors likened to notorious Donald Trump friend Jeffrey Epstein–not because of the money part but because of the pimping part–was sentenced to 21 years in prison for child sex trafficking charges.
Anton “Tony” Lazzaro would groom girls around 14- or 15-years-old with gifts, alcohol and money and then lure them into sexual relations. One prosecutor likened Lazzaro’s operation to a sex “trafficking assembly line.” In the sentencing, Judge Patrick Schiltz noted Lazzaro showed no remote and exhibited sympathy for only two people: himself and Jeffrey Epstein.
Lazzaro was a major funder for GOP candidates in his home state of Minnesota as well as Republican candidates across the country. His arrest and the subsequent disclosure led to the dismissal of the head of Minnesota’s Republican Party, who was a close friend and ally of Lazzaro.