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Deal Reached In McGreevey Custody Battle
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 9, 2008 - 10:30 am ET
(Elizabeth, New Jersey) Former Gov. James E.
McGreevey and his estranged wife have settled custody issues for their only
child as they moved closer to dissolving their marriage, their lawyers said.
The deal regarding their 6-year-old daughter came
on the third day of negotiations, which included some closed-door testimony
before the judge who is attempting to avoid a divorce trial.
"She'll get a large amount of time to spend
with her parents," McGreevey said of his daughter as he left the courthouse
escorted by two uniformed sheriff's officers.
Moments later, lawyers for both McGreevey and his
wife stood together before television cameras and reporters, saying they could
not disclose terms of the custody agreement because it was confidential.
"It was an amicable settlement," said
John N. Post, who represents Dina Matos McGreevey.
Stephen P. Haller, the former governor's lawyer,
said his client was "delighted" with the custody agreement. "But
the issues that remain are markedly different with different consequences,"
he said.
The couple and their lawyers are scheduled to
return Monday to the Union County Courthouse to begin settlement talks on
remaining issues, including alimony and child support.
Should those succeed, the remaining issue would
be Dina Matos McGreevey's claim of marriage fraud.
The former governor and his wife split in 2004
after he resigned in disgrace over a gay affair. They had been married for four
years.
McGreevey stepped down during his first term in
office after a nationally televised speech in which he acknowledged being
"a gay American" and said he had an affair with a male staffer. The
staffer has denied the affair and claims he was sexually harassed by McGreevey.
In the 3 1/2 years since the breakup, McGreevey
took up residence at the home of his boyfriend and began studying for the
Episcopal priesthood while Matos McGreevey became a sometime analyst on cable
television shows. Both wrote tell-all books and promoted them on Oprah Winfrey's
television show.
©365Gay.com 2008
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