St. Thomas GOP chair arrested in Florida on sex trafficking allegation
The 19-year-old new chair of the University of St. Thomas College Republicans has been arrested in Florida on allegations she aided a prominent state Republican activist in recruiting and trafficking minors for sex, according to a news release and jail records.
On Saturday, the Minnesota College Republicans issued a news release saying Gisela Castro Medina was arrested, along with Anton "Tony" Lazzaro, 30, on suspicion of "obstruction of justice, sex trafficking, and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of underage victims."
The U.S. Attorney released an indictment and announced that Lazzaro was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, five counts of sex trafficking of minors, one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor, and three counts of obstruction of justice.
A second person was named on the indictment, but that name was redacted. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.
According to an online log for the Okaloosa Sheriff's Department in Florida's Panhandle, Medina was arrested early Thursday evening in Fort Walton Beach on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. Her last known address was listed on Cretin Avenue in St. Paul, where St. Thomas is located.
The sheriff's site notes that she is a fugitive from the Minnesota FBI wanted on conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.
If she is the second individual on the indictment, Medina would quickly be transferred to federal custody and be likely to make an appearance in U.S. District Court in Florida as early as Monday.
The news release from the Minnesota College Republicans said Medina had recently assumed the position of chapter chair and had not begun working "in an official capacity" on behalf of the organization.
In a phone call Saturday, state chapter chair Nia Moore said she had only spoken on the phone to Medina, who became chair in the spring, and had never met her in person. She said the party's campus chapter had not been active because students, including herself, were away from campus and attending classes remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"If I had any idea, she would not have been chair," Moore said.
The state GOP College organization's news release said, "Our prayers go out to the victims of Anton Lazzaro and Gisela Medina — we believe you. We stand with you. May justice be served."
A spokesman from the University of St. Thomas didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Lazzaro remained in the Sherburne County jail. His first hearing is set for Monday. He has denied all the charges through his attorney Zachary Newland, who said, "It is always unfortunate when the federal government abuses its power."
Lazzaro had close ties to numerous high-ranking Minnesota Republicans, including state party Chair Jennifer Carnahan, who is married to U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn.
Carnahan did not immediately return a call Saturday seeking comment.
From October 2019 until early January 2020, Carnahan and Lazzaro co-hosted the podcast "#TruthMatters."
Carnahan has said contributions Lazzaro made to the state party will be given to charity.
Thursday's indictment ordered Lazzaro to forfeit numerous items, including "real property" at the Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis, a 2010 Ferrari convertible and $371,240 seized at the hotel.
A separate court filing made last month revealed a far more extensive list of possessions seized from Lazzaro back on Dec. 15, including hundreds of gold bars of various weights and dozens more silver bars, also of various weights. Precious coins and currency from around the globe were also seized, the document read.
Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747
Twitter: @rochelleolson
