Former Lumberton mayor pleads guilty to DUI, child endangerment charges

A former Lumberton Township mayor admitted in court Monday that she drove drunk with her toddler in the car last St. Patrick’s Day, bringing to a close a case that prompted calls for her resignation.

Gina LaPlaca, 46, who served as mayor until December and remains a member of the township committee, pleaded guilty before Burlington County Superior Court Judge Craig Ambrose to driving under the influence and child endangerment, according to Burlington County prosecutors.

Under a plea agreement, LaPlaca will enter a three-year diversionary program for first-time offenders. She also agreed to attend regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and install an ignition interlock device in her vehicle. Over the last year, she has completed inpatient and outpatient treatment, prosecutors said Tuesday. LaPlaca told the judge Monday she had installed an interlock device in October.

Prosecutors said a motorist captured LaPlaca on cell phone video driving a blue 2019 BMW erratically on Route 38, swerving across the center line and nearly striking a utility pole. After the driver alerted police, officers located LaPlaca and found an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, authorities said.

LaPlaca told officers she had been drinking before picking up her 2-year-old son from daycare, prosecutors said. At the time, her blood-alcohol concentration measured 0.30% — more than three times New Jersey’s legal threshold for intoxication.

In the weeks after her arrest, the township committee formally censured LaPlaca for alleged ethical violations. Despite public outcry and calls from state lawmakers to step down, she declined to resign as mayor and remained in office until her term ended in December.

An attempt to reach LaPlaca on Tuesday was unsuccessful. After her arrest last year, her husband, Jason Carty, told The Inquirer that she was “on a path to recovery” and asked for privacy.