Former South Jersey mayor Gina LaPlaca, who previously pleaded guilty to charges of child endangerment and DUI, is now being accused of faking signatures in order to get her name placed on the Democratic Party primary ballot in the June 2026 race for the Lumberton Township Committee. She is now being charged with making a false statement under oath, knowingly filing a false petition, and other offenses by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Jason Carty, LaPlaca’s husband, has also been charged with knowingly filing a false petition and other offenses connected to the case. The petition was submitted to the Lumberton County Township Municipal Clerk by Carty for the election and included an affidavit signed by LaPlaca stating that she “personally circulated the petition [and] that such petition was signed by each of the signers thereof in his/her own handwriting.”
“An investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office revealed that multiple individuals whose names and purported signatures appeared on LaPlaca’s nominating petition indicated they had neither signed the petition nor authorized anyone to do so on their behalf in support of the candidate’s nomination,” a statement from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office went on to explain.
According to a CBS News report, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office stated that without the addition of the fake signatures, LaPlaca’s petition would not have had the required number of signatures necessary to participate in the primary. She came in third place in the primary behind Lumberton Mayor Terrance Benson and Kendra Hatfield.
LaPlaca and her husband are scheduled to appear in a Mount Holly court on September 21, 2026. Earlier in the year, LaPlaca was handed a three year sentence in a diversionary program for first-time offenders after she pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and a fourth-degree child abuse charge.
In 2025, a witness captured video of LaPlaca showed the former mayor swerving out of her lane and nearly colliding with a utility pole with her child in the car. Police performed a traffic stop after being notified of her erratic driving, which was captured on bodycam. Lumberton Police then discovered that her blood alcohol concentration was .30%, which is over three times the legal limit of .08%.
A report from NBC Philadelphia said that court documents detailed the conversation that LaPlaca had with law enforcement officers at the scene, claiming she admitted to drinking and then driving her vehicle to her son’s daycare to pick him up. Police searched LaPlaca’s vehicle and discovered an open container of alcohol and was taken into custody.
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Prosecutors stated at the time that LaPlaca must provide proof that she is attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and submit to the specific conditions of participating in the PTI program. She was required to have an ignition interlock device installed on her vehicle. She served as mayor from 2021 to 2025. After leaving the mayor position, she was allowed to keep her seat on the township committee.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video