Ex-aide denies McGreevey relationship

[stu]

An Israeli who served as homeland security adviser to former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey said Monday that he never had a relationship with McGreevey, whom he accused of sexually assaulting him.

 

In an interview with The Associated Press, Golan Cipel denied McGreevey's claims that the two were lovers, saying instead that he was the victim of sexual assault. He said he was speaking out now because the former governor's forthcoming book distorts the truth.

 

McGreevey's lawyer denied Cipel's accusations.

 

McGreevey resigned as governor in August 2004 after announcing that he was gay and had cheated on his wife with a man. Aides said then that the governor was forced to leave office because Cipel was trying to extort money from him on false sexual assault allegations.

 

Cipel said McGreevey's attorney offered him at least $2 million to keep the allegations out of court. McGreevey's attorney decided against a settlement, fearing the story would leak to the media anyway, Cipel said.

 

"That's false," McGreevey's lawyer, William Lawler, told the AP on Monday. "It was his (Cipel's) lawyer who contacted us, and eventually we made a referral to the FBI."

 

Cipel, 37, said he is not gay and never had a relationship with McGreevey.

 

"People told me, 'Leave it alone. Move on with your life,'" he said in a telephone interview. "But now when I read McGreevey's book and I see that he is twisting every incident that I accused him of, I will no longer remain quiet. ... I am not afraid of him anymore."

 

McGreevey's book, "The Confession," is due in bookstores Tuesday.

 

Cipel, who now lives and works in Israel, spoke at length to the AP, but declined to give full details of the three incidents. Instead, he sent a lengthy e-mail describing them.

 

In the statement, Cipel said a drunken McGreevey once tried to force himself on him. In a second incident, McGreevey, lying in bed recovering from a broken leg, masturbated in front of him, Cipel said.

 

Cipel said it was the third incident that forced him to leave his job.

 

He said that occurred when he was accompanying McGreevey in a van on a trip to Washington, D.C. The governor was lying on a mattress in the van and Cipel was sitting in a back seat when suddenly McGreevey grabbed his leg and began masturbating, Cipel said.

 

After a struggle, Cipel pulled his leg back and was poised to kick McGreevey in the throat when the governor let go, Cipel wrote. Three state troopers were in the vehicle, he said.

 

Cipel said that when they reached Washington, he was shocked to find himself booked into the same hotel room as McGreevey. He said he locked himself in the bathroom and spent a fitful night trying to sleep on the floor.

 

McGreevey does not mention the incident in his book. "He couldn't because I'm convinced it didn't take place," Lawler said.

 

Lawler said that when Cipel's lawyer first mentioned the alleged incident two years ago, "there was no mention of masturbation. It was alleged to be a sexual act in which Golan participated."

 

Lawler also said the troopers failed to substantiate Cipel's claims. "Jim denies that it happened and so do the troopers," the attorney said.

 

McGreevey's account of Cipel's last days in his administration differed dramatically from Cipel's. The former governor says he asked Cipel to resign after press inquiries about the Israeli's qualifications that culminated with two state investigations. McGreevey says in the book that Cipel first refused to step down, but agreed after McGreevey found him another job.

 

In the book, McGreevey said he and Cipel had a months-long affair that began in December 2001 when his wife was hospitalized after giving birth.

 

After his resignation, McGreevey, 49, remained largely silent until he spoke with Oprah Winfrey about the book; the show is to air Tuesday. He works as an educational consultant and an anti-poverty advocate, and lives in Plainfield, N.J., with his partner, Mark O'Donnell.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_...r&printer=1