McGreevey ordered to hike spouse support

ELIZABETH, N.J. - Former Gov. James E. McGreevey was ordered Friday to more than double the amount of support he pays to his estranged wife.

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The nation's first openly gay governor should pay Dina Matos McGreevey $2,500 a month, Superior Court Judge Karen M. Cassidy ruled. Matos McGreevey had been receiving $1,129 a month, but maintained that was insufficient to meet the needs of herself and the couple's 5-year-old daughter.

Cassidy rejected Matos McGreevey's request for $4,000 a month, noting that Matos McGreevey said she needed to spend $2,200 a month on clothing. "It seemed a little high," the judge said.

A lawyer for the former governor, Matthew D. Piermatti, argued that his client's income was decreasing now that he'd entered an Episcopal seminary. They had offered to increase support to $1,691 a month.

Cassidy said the $2,500 a month for Matos McGreevey would help preserve the status quo until a full trial on the divorce, which is scheduled for May.

Matos McGreevey earns $82,000 at Columbus Hospital in Newark. The former governor has earned an average of about $155,000 a year for the past five years.

McGreevey announced in August 2004 that he was gay and would resign. He said he had been the target of a blackmail threat from a former lover.