A current governor in the western half of the U.S. and an ex-governor in the eastern half both find themselves in the midst of dicey divorces this week. In Nevada, sitting governor Jim Gibbons filed for divorce from his wife of 22 years, Dawn Gibbons. In New Jersey, ex-governor Jim McGreevey’s bitter divorce from estranged wife Dina Matos McGreevey finally made it to trial this week.

Jim and Dawn Gibbons - Nevada

Gibbons filed for divorce last Friday in Carson City, NV and asked the court today to seal the divorce file. Nevada law allows a divorce case to be sealed, making its contents private, at the request of either spouse. Only the original petition and the final judgment will be considered public record. Interestingly, Gibbons’ petition apparently seeks a court order requiring his wife to pay his attorney’s fees. The petition cited incompatibility as grounds for the divorce and asked that the couple’s community property be distributed according to state law. Nevada is a community property state, which will require that the marital property be divided equally between the spouses.

Gibbons served five terms in the U.S. Congress before being elected governor of Nevada in 2006. He reportedly moved out of the governor’s mansion a while ago and his wife has been living there. The divorce petition also seeks to have her removed from the mansion. Dawn Gibbons claims that she has no idea why her husband is divorcing her and says that he has cut off all communication with her. The couple has a 20 year old son, who is attending the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York. Under Nevada law, he is considered emancipated and, therefore, no child support or custody orders will be necessary.

Gibbons was the subject of sexual assault allegations brought by a Las Vegas cocktail waitress in 2006 while running for governor. No charges were ever filed. He was also investigated by a federal grand jury over allegedly taking bribes in exchange for assistance in the award of federal contracts while he was a Congressman. Again, no charges have been filed.

James and Dina McGreevey - New Jersey

As reported in our previous post on the McGreeveys, this one has been spectacularly bitter. Starting with the scandalous revelation that James McGreevey was gay and having an affair with a male staffer, the McGreevey divorce has been made for the headlines. The couple has seemingly done nothing to keep their story out of the papers, continuing to fight for years after they split. The biggest arguments have been over their six year old daughter Jacqueline and over the money Dina McGreevey believes she is owed for the time she lost in the governor’s mansion due to her husband’s resignation.

The case finally went to trial this week. The case has been divided into three parts for trial. The first part - custody - is closed to the public. The second and third portions - regarding alimony and Dina McGreevey’s fraud claim against the ex-governor - will be open. Reports out of New Jersey late today indicate that the couple may, in fact, finally be engaging in meaningful settlement discussions though. Tomorrow’s court session is not scheduled to begin until the afternoon so that the parties can continue their negotiations. It is unclear whether the parties are using a mediator or if they are merely negotiating between attorneys.

UPDATE:  The McGreeveys apparently settled their custody issues on Thursday afternoon, May 8.  They declined to make the details of that settlement public.  The financial issues remain unresolved and set for trial.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal, NJ.com

While all eyes are on the prostitution scandal involving former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, ex-New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and his estranged wife Dina Matos McGreevey continue to battle over every detail of their divorce case, almost three and a half years after they first separated. This past weekend, Theodore Pederson, a potential witness in the case, revealed that he was involved in regular sexual threesomes with the McGreeveys from 1999 to 2001 - both before and after their marriage in 2000. Pederson, a former campaign aide to McGreevey, casts doubts on Matos McGreevey’s claim that she was in the dark about her husband’s homosexual preference until just before he resigned as governor in August 2004. Pederson is expected to be called as a witness in the divorce trial, scheduled to begin in May. Continue reading "Gay Ex-New Jersey Governor’s Divorce Heats Up, Heading to Trial"