A former aide to
ex-governor Jim McGreevey of New Jersey claims he had
sexual trysts with McGreevey and his now-estranged wife
while they dated before the governor took office.
Theodore Pedersen
detailed multiple trysts in interviews Sunday with The
Star-Ledger of Newark and the New York Post.
McGreevey's
former driver and traveling aide disputes claims by Dina
Matos McGreevey that she did not know about her husband's
homosexuality when she married him in October 2000.
In her book,
Silent Partner, she says she missed the signs
that her husband preferred men. She says she didn't
learn of his homosexuality until shortly before he
announced to the nation that he was ''a gay American''
and would resign.
Pedersen, 29,
told the newspapers that the threesomes started in 1999
while McGreevey was mayor of Woodbridge and McGreevey and
Dina were dating. He said they stopped when McGreevey
was elected governor in 2001.
He said he only
had contact with Matos McGreevey during the trysts, and
wasn't sure whether McGreevey was gay.
''In hindsight,
there might have been light interest [in me],'' Pedersen
told the Newark newspaper, ''but it didn't seem like he was
gay. It did enhance their sexual relationship having
me be a part of it.''
Matos McGreevey
and her lawyer, John Post, did not respond to messages
and calls from the Associated Press seeking comment. Her
lawyer declined to comment on Pedersen's claim to
The Star-Ledger.
McGreevey didn't
return calls or messages. His lawyer, Stephen Haller,
declined to comment to the AP Sunday night. Pedersen could
not be reached for comment Sunday night.
Pedersen's name
surfaced recently as part of the McGreeveys' contentious
divorce proceedings.
Matos McGreevey
asked whether Pedersen's trip to China last summer, in
which he accompanied McGreevey and his boyfriend, Mark
O'Donnell, was paid for out of a bank account the
former governor and his partner share.
Pedersen told the
newspapers he gave a sworn deposition about the sexual
liaisons and expects to be called as a witness in the
divorce trial.
In her book,
Matos McGreevey refers to Pedersen as a close acquaintance
but someone she didn't always want around. On a trip to
Canada during which she expected McGreevey to pop the
marriage question, she insisted that Pedersen stay
behind.
Matos McGreevey
claims in her divorce lawsuit that her husband defrauded
her by hiding his sexuality before and during their
marriage. She is seeking $600,000 in
damages. (AP)
