A former aide to ex-Gov. Jim McGreevey claims he had sexual encounters with McGreevey and his now-estranged wife while they dated before the governor took office.

Theodore Pedersen, who was a driver and traveling aide for the former governor, told the New Jersey Star-Ledger and the New York Post that he had regular sexual affairs with the couple.

To the New York Post, Pedersen said, "The 'intense' end-of-the-work-week escapades usually began with a 'couple of drinks' at a local T.G.I. Fridays and culminated in 'a hard-core consensual sex org' among the three of them at McGreevey's Woodbridge condo."

According to the Star-Ledger, "[Theodore Pedersen] said he and the couple even had a nickname for the weekly romps, from 1999 to 2001... They called them 'Friday Night Specials.' He said he wanted to refute the innocent image that Matos McGreevey has projected - both during the couple's ongoing divorce battle and in interviews she gave after New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned last week in a sex scandal. He said he was also incensed by her portrayal of herself as an unsuspecting wife in her book: 'Silent Partner: A Memoir of My Marriage.'"

In her book, Matos McGreevey says she missed the signs that her husband preferred men. She says she didn't learn of his homosexuality until shortly before he announced to the nation that he was "a gay American" and would resign.

"I wanted to get this out now because it was so offensive to me that she goes on television playing the victim. She's trying to make this a payday for herself. She should have told the truth about the three of us," Pedersen said.

Pedersen, 29, says the threesomes started in 1999 while McGreevey was mayor of Woodbridge and McGreevey and Dina were dating. He said they stopped when McGreevey was elected governor in 2001.

He said he only had contact with Matos McGreevey during the trysts, and wasn't sure whether McGreevey was gay.

"In hindsight, there might have been light interest (in me)," Pedersen told the newspapers, "but it didn't seem like he was gay. It did enhance their sexual relationship having me be a part of it."

In a statement to ABC News, Dina Matos McGreevey says Teddy Pedersen's claims are false:

"Theodore Pedersen's claims, as reported in the Newark Star Ledger on March 16, are completely false and were prompted by Jim McGreevey. This all has to do with the publicity I have received since Governor Spitzer resigned. Jim has enlisted one of his cronies in trying to distinguish that situation from his own, and to discredit me in the media. He cannot stand it when I am receiving attention in the media rather than him. This is not the first time. Jim started with a false claim, made shortly before my book was published, that I knew he was gay when we were married. The falsity of that claim is made clear on the very first page of Jim's book, just as his description of our relationship in his book stands in stark contrast to Pedersen's false allegations. Jim again became the focus of the media's attention, just one day after my book was released by announcing his intention to become an Episcopalian priest. 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. They have continued their close relationship since Jim left office. Most recently, in August 2007, Jim and his partner, Mark O'Donnell, funded Pedersen's vacation to China, along with Jim, O'Donnell, and other members of Jim's inner circle. This was obviously payback time for Pedersen."

UPDATE: In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Jim McGreevey said Pedersen's statements were true and that his estranged wife needs to move forward for the sake of their 6-year-old daughter. "This happened, this happened in the past, and now we need to move on with our lives," McGreevey said.

Last update: 03-17-2008 18:53