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SAO PAOLO, Brazil (CBS) ― From joy to heartbreak: the long-awaited reunion between a New Jersey father and his son being held in Brazil for almost five years has hit yet another legal snag. A Brazilian Supreme Court justice suspended the court order which would have returned 9-year-old Sean Goldman to his father, Tinton Falls resident David Goldman, who will return home empty-handed.

It is a real-life case of David versus Goliath, because the Brazilian family who has custody of his son has connections all the way up to Brazil's president. 

The elder Goldman is now in Brazil, frustrated, but still determined to wrest his son away from the family of his ex-wife's new husband. According to Congressman Christopher Smith, who's there with Goldman, that family has deep political connections, including being related to the country's president.

"They are a very powerful legal family, with lawyers from one of the biggest law firms in Rio De Janiero," says Congressman Christopher Smith (R-N.J.). "They have, unfortunately, exploited the system."

A friend of Goldman's told CBS 2 that the Brazilian family is going to extreme lengths to keep Sean in South America.

"Their claim to Sean is obviously not biological and so they've gone down this path of making up terms like socio-effective paternity, essentially claiming that Sean has been with them long enough, he's acclimated there, he's comfortable there," he said. "That seems to be the path they've taken, they've tried to divert attention away from the Hague Convention."

The Hague Convention, a treatey signed by the U.S. and Brazil, forbids parental abductions like what Sean's mother did. President Obama has called on the country to honor the Convention, but so far they have not.

This despite the fact that days ago, a Brazilian federal judge ordered Sean be returned to New Jersey, saying "the right to live with the father who created you is a fundamental element of human dignity."

Friends and family can't understand how that could be overturned.

"There's just really no good explanation legally, morally, ethically, for why they're still apart. Yet, here we are," said DeAngelis.

Congressman Smith was with Goldman back in February when the father and son were briefly reunited after four years. He says the time apart has not diminished their bond.

"It was very clear that there was a love one for the other, but that first moment, I had tears in my eyes," Smith recalls.

The nightmare began for Goldman when his then-wife took their son to Brazil on vacation. She called and announced she was divorcing him. Goldman traveled to Brazil nine times trying to get his son back to no avail. Then, last year, his ex-wife died after childbirth. Yet he still hasn't been able to retrieve his son.

Goldman, a former model, has a Web site updating supporters with videos from when Sean and he were together. He has enlisted the aid of pretty much anyone who'll help, from friends to politicians. Even so, sources tell CBS 2 his case didn't gain traction in Brazil until Secretary of State Hil.ary Clinton got involved.

"You can't kidnap our child," Goldman said recently.

The case is raising diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Brazil. President Obama recently issued a statement describing it as a case of international child abduction.

Coverage of the story in Brazil has been exceedingly unflattering of David Goldman. The Brazilian family, though, is also apparently connected to the national television network.

One bit of good news: David did get to visit his son late Wednesday afternoon.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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