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Wife denies gay ex-governor's claims of three-way trysts
Former aide to Jim McGreevey says he and the couple had group sex
Dina Matos McGreevey denies; says husband has "cronies" after her
Jim McGreevey Monday confirms aide's accounts given to reporters
McGreeveys are in the process of divorcing; he announced resignation in '04
From Mythili Rao
NEW YORK (CNN) -- He says it's true. She says it's not.
Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey and his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, in 2004.
Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey says he and his wife Dina Matos McGreevey used to engage in three-way sex with his ex-aide and driver.
Dina Matos McGreevey has denied the allegation.
The former aide, Teddy Pedersen, told the New York Post and New Jersey's Star-Ledger he began having threesomes with the McGreeveys -- a routine "hard-core consensual sex orgy" they called the "Friday Night Special" -- in the late 1990s during Dina and Jim's courtship, and that the trysts continued after the couple's marriage in 2000, the papers reported online Sunday.
Pedersen described regularly sharing a hotel room with the McGreeveys during out-of-town business trips.
"In my opinion, me being a part of their sexual relationship enhanced it for both of them," he told the Post.
In a statement issued Monday, Dina Matos McGreevey acknowledged that Pedersen had long had a "close relationship" with her former husband, but called his sexual claims "completely false."
"This all has to do with the publicity I have received since [New York] Gov. [Eliot] Spitzer resigned," her statement said, alluding to her recent New York Times op-ed piece on Silda Wall Spitzer and her recent discussion of betrayed political wives on CNN's "Larry King Live."
"Jim has enlisted one of his cronies in trying to distinguish that situation from his own, and to discredit me in the media," she said.
In August 2004, she stood silently beside her husband while he publicly declared himself "a gay American," admitted to having an office-compromising affair with another man -- later identified as a staff member -- and announced his intention to resign.
They are in the process of divorcing.
Jim McGreevey Monday confirmed Pedersen's claims.
"This happened, this happened in the past, and now, we need to move on with our lives," the former governor said in a written statement. "For all our sakes, particularly our daughter, we need to close this chapter and look toward the future."
The statement went on to say he had removed references to the incidents Pedersen describes from an early draft of his book.
"I still hope Dina and I can resolve our issues privately," it concluded.
After Dina Matos McGreevey issued her refutation, Pedersen stood by his story, telling the New York Post, "Dina is still in denial. It's time for her to face the truth."
"It's frustrating to hear her call Gov. Spitzer a hypocrite while she's out there being as dishonest as anyone could be about her own life," he told the Post. "It's disgusting to watch her play the victim card."
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