Former New Jersey
governor Jim McGreevey didn't plan to torment his
wife while they were married, a judge in their divorce case
ruled Thursday, while allowing her to continue with a
claim of marriage fraud.
The judge
dismissed Dina Matos McGreevey's claim of emotional distress
against her estranged gay husband. ''Mr. McGreevey was not
out to destroy her emotionally,'' superior court judge
Karen Cassidy said.
Cassidy said she
would permit the fraud claim to continue for now but
warned, ''That does not guarantee the defendant will be
successful in trying her claim.''
Matos McGreevey
claims she was duped into marrying a gay man who sought
the cover of a wife to hide his homosexuality and further
his political ambitions. He claims he provided
companionship and a child, thus fulfilling his part of
the marriage contract.
The pretrial
hearing came less than a week after McGreevey, 50, said
claims that he and his wife engaged in threesomes with a
male aide were true; Matos McGreevey, 41, denied they
happened.
Arriving with her
attorney Thursday, Matos McGreevey said only ''no
comment'' as she entered the courthouse. McGreevey also
attended the hearing and said nothing on his way into
or out of the courthouse.
His lawyer,
Stephen Haller, said the judge's rulings encouraged his
legal team. ''Read between the lines,'' he said of the
judge's words of caution in allowing the fraud claim
to proceed.
Cassidy told the
former first couple that their divorce trial, scheduled
to start May 6, would get ugly. ''We all know what happened
this week,'' she said. ''What evidence will likely be
heard in this case, this week was just the tip of the
iceberg.''
In interviews
with The Star-Ledger of Newark and the New
York Post, former McGreevey driver Teddy
Pedersen said he had consensual sex with the couple for
about two years before McGreevey became governor. He
said he had contact only with Dina Matos McGreevey
during the trysts and wasn't sure whether McGreevey
was gay.
Pedersen, 29,
said he came forward to support McGreevey's contention that
his wife had to have known he was gay when they married. She
says she had no clue.
Cassidy also
agreed during Thursday's three-hour court proceeding to
allow testimony from a financial expert hired by Matos
McGreevey. McGreevey sought to bar CPA Kalman Barson's
report, which claims she is entitled to much more
money than what the ex-governor says he can afford to
pay.
She is seeking
$600,000 in compensation for the time she would have spent
at the governor's mansion had he not resigned.
That estimate
includes keeping with the ''Drumthwacket lifestyle,'' which
included use of state police helicopters, a personal
assistant, household staff, and use of the state's
beach house. Drumthwacket is the governor's mansion.
Before McGreevey
became governor, he made $52,000 a year as mayor of
Woodbridge, and the couple lived in a condominium.
McGreevey left
office in 2004 after acknowledging an affair with a male
staffer who he said was trying to blackmail him. The
ex-staffer denies being gay or having an affair, and
said he was sexually harassed by the Democratic
governor.
Cassidy also
heard arguments on the custody of their 6-year-old daughter
but barred the media from that portion of the hearing. The
judge this week sealed court records relating to the
girl. (Angela Delli Santi, AP)