The Voices of Union County NJ

[St. Paul]

Another petition in a bitter breakup
Matos McGreevey asks judge for relief
Friday, November 16, 2007
BY JUDITH LUCAS
Star-Ledger Staff

The estranged wife of former Gov. James E. McGreevey wants him to pay most of the costs for their daughter's psychotherapy and their sessions with a court-appointed mediator.

In her latest filing to Family Court Judge Karen Cassidy, Dina Matos McGreevey implores the Superior Court judge in Elizabeth to reverse her decision from two months ago that they equally split the bills.

Matos McGreevey suggested that McGreevey pay up to two-thirds of the bills, while she would pay the remainder.

Matos McGreevey's position is that the expenses should be divided based on their incomes, her attorney John Post wrote in the latest court filings released yesterday.

McGreevey earns $130,662 and Matos McGreevey earns $82,000. Matos McGreevey is also getting $2,500 in temporary support from McGreevey.

Post further suggested that the McGreeveys' incomes are inflated because of proceeds from their books. McGreevey earned $250,000 from his book, "The Confession." Matos McGreevey earned $275,000 from "Silent Partner."

But McGreevey's attorney said there could be additional assets.

"Mr. Post seems to have forgotten that the court determined that the defendant (Matos McGreevey) could not account for a large portion of her income," Matthew Piermatti II wrote.

Piermatti wrote that McGreevey's partner Mark O'Donnell is paying for some of Jacqueline McGreevey's therapy costs through an insurance policy, which he maintains.

"I would expect the court to make it clear in its ruling that Mr. O'Donnell has no obligation to provide any insurance for Jacqueline."

The McGreeveys have wrestled over every aspect of their divorce, from money to custody. The couple separated after McGreevey resigned as governor in 2004.

Matos McGreevey has argued that she is financially unable to keep herself and daughter Jacqueline in a comfortable lifestyle. McGreevey, meanwhile, is living with O'Donnell in a million-dollar house in Plainfield.

"In light of the financial disparity between the parties' incomes, it is in the interest of justice that the court reconsider the issue and make a determination as to the responsibility of the professional fees based upon the parties' incomes," Post wrote to Cassidy.

The McGreevey divorce trial is expected to begin in the spring.

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