Dina Matos McGreevey Seeking Compensation of Missed Perks
ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) -- As governor, Jim McGreevey lived in luxury. But, it was a life mostly paid for by others, chiefly taxpayers.
That was the picture McGreevey painted on the stand Thursday as he tried to convince the judge in his divorce case that he can't afford to pay his estranged wife alimony.
In his second day of testimony, McGreevey said that it was his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, who paid for their wedding and honeymoon.
``Dina handled the wedding arrangements, and the wedding trip, and to a large extent she handled the honeymoon,'' McGreevey, 50, testified.
Matos McGreevey, 41, claims her time as New Jersey's first lady was cut short after her husband said he had a gay affair. Now she wants him to pay for the lifestyle she would have enjoyed had he not resigned in disgrace in 2004.
On Thursday, McGreevey detailed the lush lifestyle the couple enjoyed when he was governor, including the use of state police helicopters, household servants, personal security and the use of two beach homes.
The former first lady claims she is entitled to compensation for the kind of gubernatorial perks she would have enjoyed for at least 13 more months, something McGreevey lawyer Stephen Haller flatly rejected.
``She is no more entitled today to have a state trooper drive her to work and her child to day care than I am,'' said Haller. ``It is a greedy claim, and it's illicit.''
The McGreeveys split in 2004, months after he announced his resignation on national television in a speech in which he declared himself ``a gay American'' and said he had an affair with a male staffer. The staffer, Golan Cipel, denies the affair and says he was sexually harassed by the governor.
The couple is now fighting over alimony, child support, and how to divide their assets and liabilities. They have agreed on custody of their only child, 6-year-old Jacqueline.
Matos McGreevey is asking the court to award her additional money based on the contention that McGreevey committed marriage fraud. She says she was duped into marriage by a gay man who needed the cover of a wife to advance his political career.
McGreevey says his wife should have known he was gay.
Since their split, McGreevey and his wife have each written their own tell-all book about their life together and the fallout from the sex scandal.
However, McGreevey, a former prosecutor and political consultant, testified Wednesday that he is all but unemployable because of the sex scandal and ongoing publicity over the messy divorce.
Now an Episcopal seminary student, McGreevey said he is in financial ruins; he said he owes a prior divorce lawyer at least
$116,000 and has not paid his first ex-wife any child support this year.
He said he relies on boyfriend Mark O'Donnell to pay legal bills and lifestyle expenses, lives in a house owned by O'Donnell, and owes O'Donnell money.
However, employment expert Donna Kolsky testified Thursday that McGreevey could earn a maximum of $118,000 from teaching and consulting.
Matos McGreevey, a hospital executive who earns about $82,000 a year, is slated to lose her job next month when the hospital closes.
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