Ex-New Jersey mayor accused of using fake signatures for primary election months after pleading guilty to DUI
A former South Jersey mayor who pleaded guilty to DUI and child endangerment charges is accused of using fake signatures to get her name on the Democratic primary ballot in the June 2026 Lumberton Township Committee race.
The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday that Gina LaPlaca, the former Lumberton Township mayor who is currently a committeewoman, has been charged with making a false statement under oath, knowingly filing a false petition and other offenses.
LaPlaca's husband, Jason Carty, was also charged with knowingly filing a false petition and other offenses in the case.
The petition submitted to the Lumberton Township Municipal Clerk by Carty for the election had 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."
"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 said in part.
According to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, without the fake signatures, LaPlaca's would've lacked the number of signatures needed to run in the primary. She finished third in the primary behind Lumberton Mayor Terrance Benson and Kendra Hatfield.
LaPlaca and Carty have a court appearance scheduled in Mount Holly, New Jersey, for Sept. 21.
Earlier in 2026, LaPlaca was sentenced to three years in a diversionary program for first-time offenders after pleading guilty to driving under the influence and a fourth-degree child abuse charge. She was arrested outside her home in 2025 after video from a witness showed her swerving out of her lane and nearly hitting a utility pole with her child in the car.
Lumberton police discovered her blood alcohol concentration was .30%, over three times the legal limit of .08%. She served as Lumberton mayor through 2025 until Benson was sworn in.
