Man arrested in same sex sting as Sen. Craig is acquitted

Last update: March 8, 2008 - 9:12 PM

A Minneapolis man arrested in the same airport bathroom sex sting as U.S. Sen. Larry Craig has been acquitted.

Vince Tuzon, 39, used a similar argument to Craig in pleading not guilty. Tuzon claimed he wasn't guilty because the police officer initiated the foot-tapping.

On Friday, a Hennepin County jury agreed with Tuzon.

"My client really feels that he was set up," defense lawyer Jeffrey Dean said. "He stopped in to use the restroom. He was using the toilet when he was essentially bombarded with overtures."

The Metropolitan Airports Commission was "disappointed" with the ruling, spokesman Pat Hogan said.

"Every case is different, and we respect the jury's decision," he said. "That's just the way this one went."

The sting operation was conducted at a busy restroom in the Lindbergh Terminal of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from May to August last year. It went along relatively quietly until it was divulged in August that Craig, a Republican from Idaho, was cited on June 11.

Craig initially pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and paid $575 in fines. But he said that he pleaded guilty to try and keep the incident out of the media and has since asked the state Appeals Court to let him withdraw the plea.

Craig claims in his appeal that the state's disorderly conduct law is flawed. Airport lawyers say his guilty plea should stand. In that appeal, Craig's lawyers argue that police initiated the contact, which is the argument Tuzon used to be acquitted on Friday.

"My client feels that the police conduct was very abusive, and he was entrapped and set up," Dean said.