Monica Ciardi freed from jail—but plea deal may forever cut her off from her children
By Richard Luthmann with Michael Volpe
Monica Ciardi is finally out of jail. But her freedom may come at the cost of everything that matters—her children.
Monica Ciardi is a mother from Mendham, New Jersey, who became entangled in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband, John Uanis, a police shooting instructor.
She was arrested twice in connection to the case—first in January 2024 over a Facebook post prosecutors called a threat, and again in October 2024 on felony charges, including making false reports to police about Uanis.
Protective Mother Plea Nightmare: Is Monica Ciardi’s Plea Even Valid?
Last week, Ciardi pleaded guilty to a third-degree charge in Essex County, New Jersey. After being locked up for five months, she exited jail on Friday, March 21, 2025. But the plea deal came with no public allocution and no confirmation that Ciardi fully understood what she was giving up.
Her lawyer, former Essex County prosecutor Casey Breslow, negotiated the plea, which included a “non-disparagement” clause that prevents Ciardi from speaking about her case. She has said nothing publicly. Her advocates say she didn’t need a gag order—she needed medical care and a competent bail motion.
“This deal may not stick,” said investigative journalist and legal commentator Richard Luthmann on The Unknown Podcast.
“There’s no indication Monica was informed of the full collateral consequences. That makes the plea constitutionally defective.”
Luthmann cited Padilla v. Kentucky, a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding a plea invalid if a defendant is not warned about immigration consequences.
“If immigration consequences trigger due process, then so should losing your children forever,” Luthmann said.
The conditions of Ciardi’s confinement—reportedly in a filthy medical wing with untreated inmates—created intense pressure.
“She wanted out at any cost,” Luthmann said. “But no one told her the real price.”
Will Monica Ever See Her Children Again?
Ciardi’s felony conviction could have permanent effects on her parental rights. Courts routinely cite criminal records as justification to deny custody or visitation, even when the charges have nothing to do with parenting. The plea—accepted in desperation—could be used by Ciardi’s ex-husband, John Uanis, to bar her from contact with her children until they reach adulthood.
Uanis, a firearms trainer for the police in Morris Plains, was the lead witness in the criminal case. He has claimed Ciardi made false reports and threatened judges. Ciardi insists she was the one abused—and punished for speaking out.
According to legal experts, the plea may give Uanis all the ammunition he needs in family court.
“If Monica didn’t understand this would cost her her kids, then the plea is probably invalid,” said Luthmann. “That’s not justice. That’s entrapment.”
Wall Street’s Dave Weigel, founder of the Family Court Fraud Warrior Project, agreed.
“Monica may never see her two youngest daughters again until they turn 18,” he said. “John Uanis might have already won.”
Breslow has not responded to questions from this outlet about whether Ciardi was informed of the risks to her custody rights.
In most states, including New Jersey, courts are not required to warn defendants that a conviction may be used against them in family court—even when the outcome is permanent family separation.
Protective Mother Plea Nightmare: A Natural Right Denied?
Luthmann and co-host Michael Volpe blasted the family courts and their systemic failure to respect parental rights on The Unknown Podcast.
“The Supreme Court has said the right to raise your child is fundamental,” Volpe said, referencing Troxel v. Granville (2000). “So why is it treated like garbage in family court?”
“MS-13 gang members and Tren De Aragua terrorists get more due process than Monica Ciardi did in New Jersey,” Luthmann said. “Where’s the constitutional protection for a protective mother?”
They argued that courts treat parents’ rights as optional while enforcing every procedural safeguard for criminal defendants accused of heinous crimes.
“We throw out pleas for not warning about immigration,” Luthmann said. “But no one cares if you lose your kids?”
The system, they said, is stacked against mothers like Ciardi. She was arrested for a Facebook post prosecutors claimed was a threat—but which supporters say quoted a judge’s own threats to remove her children. Her case was never about violence, they said—it was about silencing a mother who refused to stay quiet.
Protective Mother Plea Nightmare: Messages From the Front Line
Despite the bleak outlook, Ciardi’s supporters aren’t finished with their Family Court advocacy.
David Weigel, a Wall Street fiduciary turned parental rights activist, was a leader in the campaign to bring attention to Ciardi’s unjust detention.
“Thank you to everyone who helped free Monica Ciardi, a hostage of the family court system,” Weigel said. “Monica is home now, but this fight for protective parents is far from over.”
Weigel’s Family Court Fraud Warrior Project has organizes advocacy, media outreach, and quantitative AI-based investigation around egregious cases like Monica Ciardi’s.
“We will keep fighting for every parent gagged and shackled by this corrupt system of lies,” he said. “This business model of Family Court Fraud cannot continue.”
Jill Jones Soderman, founder of the Foundation for the Child Victims of the Family Courts (fcvfc.org), confirmed Monica is safe and recovering.
“She is thankful for the prayers and support from around the country,” Soderman said. “She knows she’s not alone.”
For now, Ciardi is home. But she is silenced.
And unless the courts admit their error, she may remain cut off from her children—punished not for what she did, but for daring to challenge the crooked New Jersey Family Court system.
