Former NJ mayor faces fake election petition signature charges for Dem primary

A former New Jersey mayor who previously pleaded guilty in a DUI case involving her child is facing new charges alongside her husband after prosecutors alleged false signatures appeared on her nominating petition for a Democratic primary race.

Gina LaPlaca, the former mayor of Lumberton Township who remains a member of the township committee, was charged with making a false statement under oath, knowingly filing a false petition, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday.

LaPlaca’s husband, Jason Carty, was also charged with knowingly filing a false petition, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records.

The petition submitted by Carty to the Lumberton Township Municipal Clerk for the primary election included an affidavit signed by LaPlaca saying she “personally circulated the petition [and] that such petition was signed by each of the signers thereof in his/her own handwriting.”

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An investigation found that LaPlaca, 47, and Carty, 49, had collected signatures for the petition, prosecutors said. 

“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,” the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Prosecutors said that without the allegedly fraudulent signatures, LaPlaca’s petition would not have contained enough valid signatures to qualify her as a candidate for the June 2026 Democratic primary for Lumberton Township Committee.

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LaPlaca and Carty have a court appearance scheduled on Sept. 21 in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

LaPlaca served as Lumberton’s mayor from 2021 to 2025. Although she left the mayor’s post, she retained her seat on the township committee, with her current term set to expire at the end of this year.

She sought re-election to the committee in the June Democratic primary but finished third in the contest for two open seats, behind Mayor Terrance Benson and his running mate, Kendra Hatfield.

The new allegations come after LaPlaca pleaded guilty earlier this year in a DUI case stemming from an incident in which her child was in the vehicle.

Prosecutors said LaPlaca was intoxicated when she picked up her child from daycare in March 2025. Witness video showed her vehicle swerving out of its lane and nearly striking a utility pole while the child was inside.

Police said her blood alcohol concentration was 0.30%, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08%.

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LaPlaca was sentenced to three years of supervision under a pretrial intervention program, including mandatory attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.