The former
governor of New Jersey, who resigned over a gay affair, and
his estranged wife settled custody issues for their only
child on Thursday as they moved closer to dissolving
their marriage, their lawyers said.
The deal
regarding the 6-year-old daughter of James E. McGreevey and
Dina Matos McGreevey came on the third day of
negotiations, which included some closed-door
testimony before the judge who is attempting to avoid a
divorce trial.
''She'll get a
large amount of time to spend with her parents,''
McGreevey said of his daughter as he left the courthouse
escorted by two uniformed sheriff's officers.
Moments later,
lawyers for both McGreevey and his wife stood together
before television cameras and reporters, saying they could
not disclose terms of the custody agreement because it
was confidential.
''It was an
amicable settlement,'' said John N. Post, who represents
Matos McGreevey.
Stephen P.
Haller, the former governor's lawyer, said his client was
''delighted'' with the custody agreement. ''But the issues
that remain are markedly different with different
consequences,'' he said.
The couple and
their lawyers are scheduled to return to court Monday to
begin settlement talks on remaining issues, including
alimony and child support. If those
talks succeed, the remaining issue would be Matos
McGreevey's claim of marriage fraud.
The former
governor and his wife split in 2004 after he resigned in
disgrace over an alleged extramarital affair with a male
staffer. They had been married for four years.
James McGreevey
stepped down during his first term in office after a
nationally televised speech in which he acknowledged being
''a gay American'' and admitted to the
affair. The staffer has denied the affair and
claims he was sexually harassed by McGreevey.
In the 3 1/2
years since the breakup, James McGreevey took up residence
at the home of his boyfriend and began studying for
the Episcopal priesthood while Matos McGreevey became
a sometime analyst on cable television shows. Both
wrote tell-all books and promoted them on Oprah Winfrey's
television show. (Jeffrey Gold, AP)
