McGreevey divorce back in court today

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) - March 20, 2008 A judge will decide whether Dina Matos McGreevey can continue with her marriage fraud claim against her estranged husband.

Matos McGreevey claims she was tricked into marrying a gay man who thought he needed the cover of a wife to further his political ambitions. He claims he provided companionship and a child, fulfilling his part of the marriage contract.

Thursday's courtroom session in Elizabeth comes less than a week after McGreevey's former driver claimed he regularly engaged in threesomes with the couple before McGreevey became governor.

Jim McGreevey, 50, said claims of three-way sexual trysts are 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; he said nothing on his way into the courthouse.

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.

While sure to encompass the drama of the past week, Thursday's courtroom business was not expected to include discussions of the sexual liaisons.

Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy will also hear other arguments on the custody of the their 6-year-old daughter.

Earlier this week, the judge sealed court records relating to the girl. However, she is expected to hear in open court a motion by Jim McGreevey to throw out the fraud charge at the center of his wife's case.

The judge also is expected to consider whether to allow a report by Matos McGreevey's financial expert. It claims she's 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.

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 having an affair and said he was sexually harassed by the Democratic governor.

In a book about her marriage, Matos McGreevey claims she had no clue the former governor was gay; she acknowledged missing several signs.