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'Yes, we had threesomes'
18/03/2008 14:18 - (SA)
Trenton, New Jersey - Former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey said he, his wife and a male aide engaged in sexual threesomes, contradicting a denial issued hours earlier by his estranged spouse.
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, the first openly gay governor in the US said on Monday that published reports by former campaign aide Teddy Pedersen are true.
In interviews posted online by The Star-Ledger of Newark and the New York Post, 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 was not sure whether McGreevey was gay.
In his statement, McGreevey said he and his estranged wife need to move forward for the sake of their six-year-old daughter.
"This happened, this happened in the past, and now we need to move on with our lives," McGreevey, 50, said without being specific.
'Close relationship' with aide
His e-mail to The Associated Press came shortly after one from Matos McGreevey. She said Pedersen's claims of consensual three-way sex "are completely false and were prompted by Jim McGreevey".
"Jim has had a close relationship with Pedersen since his days as mayor of Woodbridge, and arranged jobs for Pedersen from that time through his years as governor and beyond," said Matos McGreevey, 41. "They have continued their close relationship since Jim left office. This was obviously payback time for Pedersen."
The McGreeveys are in the midst of an acrimonious divorce. She accuses him of hiding his homosexuality before and during their marriage and has sued for damages. He has said she should have known he was gay.
Pedersen has given a sworn deposition about the sexual liaisons and expects to be called as a witness in the divorce trial.
Pedersen, 29, told the newspapers the threesomes went on for about two years during the McGreeveys' courtship and into their marriage. He said the trysts ended when McGreevey was elected governor in 2001.
Calls placed by the AP on Monday to two published listings for Pedersen rang unanswered.
Spitzer resignation
Pedersen said he came forward because he was angry that Matos McGreevey was offering television commentary on the resignation of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who stepped down last week amid a call-girl scandal. During her commentary, Matos McGreevey said she was blindsided when her husband announced his homosexuality.
McGreevey resigned in 2004 after acknowledging an affair with a male staffer who he said was trying to blackmail him. The ex-staffer said he was sexually harassed by the Democratic governor.
The McGreeveys separated shortly after McGreevey's nationally televised speech in which he declared himself "a gay American".
- AP
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