Police: Woman left 3 kids alone in car while she gambled

A 38-year-old New Jersey woman left her three children, one of them 11 months old, in her car on Saturday night while she gambled for more than two hours at Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, according to court records.

Milady Borda, of Elizabeth, was charged with three counts of child endangerment, two of them felonies. She was arraigned by District Judge Alan R. Mege and was released after a relative posted $25,000 bail.

Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio said paramedics checked out the three children — an 8-year-old boy, a 3-yearold boy and an 11-month-old girl — and they did not appear to be harmed. Children and Youth Services were called and took custody of the children, and they were turned over to the father, he said.

Bethlehem police were dispatched at 12:06 a.m. Sunday to the casino on a report of children being left inside a car. A Bethlehem officer viewed surveillance footage from the casino that showed Borda taking the children to her car at 9:51 p.m. Saturday. Surveillance footage then shows her leaving them alone in the car, which was not turned on, and then going to the casino floor where she gambled for about two hours, leaving around midnight, police said.

This is at least the fourth time in recent years that a parent has been charged with leaving a child in a car while gambling at the casino. In one week in February, police twice arrested parents who left their children alone in a hotel room while they gambled.

In 2011, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli vowed to take a tough stance on parents who leave their children unattended while they gamble and would not allow any of those charged to participate in a program for first-time offenders.

“The fact is that too many children are at risk when their parents and caregivers become so addicted to gambling that they leave their children unattended outside and inside casinos with, unfortunately, often tragic consequences,” Morganelli said at the time. He added that he would also seek to have those parents permanently banned from entering the casino.

DiLuzio said casino security is trained to look into cars in the parking lot to see if children, or pets, have been left unattended.

“I don’t know why people continue to do this,” DiLuzio said. “If you are going to go in the casino, leave your kids at home. The casino is adult entertainment.”

Morning Call reporter Manuel Gamiz Jr. can be reached at 610-820-6595 or at mgamiz@mcall.com.