A New Jersey Democratic township official who drove drunk with her toddler in the car, at a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit, pleaded guilty Monday and walked away without a single day in jail.
Gina LaPlaca, 46, a member of the Lumberton Township Committee and former mayor, pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Mount Holly to fourth-degree child abuse and driving under the influence. Prosecutors said her blood alcohol concentration measured.30%, in a state where.08% makes you legally drunk.
Instead of prison, she got a diversion program. That's the system working for the connected.
The charges stem from a March 2025 incident. As the New York Post reported, LaPlaca's 2-year-old son was in the backseat when another motorist called police to report her vehicle swerving across the centerline and nearly striking oncoming cars.
Lumberton police reviewed video footage recorded by the motorist and went to LaPlaca's residence, where they took her into custody. Officers administered field sobriety tests, captured on bodycam, and she failed. When asked what she had been drinking, LaPlaca answered with one word: "vodka."
The Post also reported that police found open alcohol containers in the car, including a water bottle filled with alcohol and a small liquor bottle. Her toddler was strapped into a car seat.
Bodycam footage showed officers separating the child from the scene while they conducted their investigation. They moved the boy to the curb for safety.
Superior Court Judge Craig A. Ambrose sentenced LaPlaca to three years of supervision under Burlington County's Pretrial Intervention program, a diversionary track that carries no jail time if she complies with its conditions. The terms require her to:
LaPlaca told the court she had voluntarily installed an ignition interlock device back in October 2025. She served as mayor through 2025 before Terrance Benson was sworn in this year.
She still sits on the township committee.
LaPlaca posted a statement to social media calling her actions "wrong," "dangerous," and "inexcusable." The New York Post reported she wrote on Facebook:
"What I did was wrong. It was dangerous. It was inexcusable. I drove while intoxicated with my child in the car, a choice that could have caused irreversible harm."
She also said she is "fully committed to my recovery" and pledged to spend "every day moving forward striving to be worthy of the second chance I have been given."
But her earlier posture told a different story. After the arrest, when Gov. Phil Murphy and local officials urged her to step aside, LaPlaca refused to resign, saying in an email obtained by Fox 29:
"I will not be resigning my position. Our community needs to be more kind and understanding about people trying to better themselves."
Her husband, Jason Carty, told the Philadelphia Inquirer he wanted everyone to "leave her alone" since she isn't a "big city" mayor. He said she had entered an inpatient facility for recovery.
LaPlaca invoked the word "accountability" in her social media statement. But accountability without consequences is just a press release.
A.30% BAC is a medical emergency for most adults. At that level, behind the wheel, with a 2-year-old strapped in the back, swerving into oncoming traffic, any ordinary citizen would expect to face serious time. LaPlaca got supervision and AA meetings.
New Jersey's legal intoxication threshold sits at.08%. LaPlaca blew nearly four times that number. She endangered every driver on the road and, above all, her own child.
She still holds public office. She still draws a government role. The system gave her a second chance before most defendants would get a first hearing.
When the powerful preach accountability but dodge the consequences ordinary people face, it isn't justice, it's privilege wearing a name tag.
