For Sergio Tostes, the lawyer of the Brazilian family of American boy Sean Goldman, David Goldman’s announcement that he intends to sue to get back what he spent – about half a million dollars – in his judicial battle to get his son back just shows what he says always was the American’s objective: getting money from the rich Bianchis and Lins e Silva.
This “reveals the character” of Goldman, he told reporters in Brazil, adding: “It’s just proof that all he ever wanted was money. This is the concern that moves him.”
And he continued “This statement is not surprising and it only shows the pecuniary interest of Mr. David Goldman. All he did was not in the interest of the son, it was pecuniary interest.”
Tostes noted that the Bianchis, the grandparents of Sean, had already paid the American father US$ 150,000 so he would end the lawsuit against the Bianchis in which they were co-defendants charged with kidnapping the child together with Bruna Bianchi, who went with the son to Brazil five years ago when he was 4.
She ended up dying a little over a year ago when giving birth to Chiara, her daughter with famous lawyer, João Paulo Lins e Silva whom she married.
The Brazilian lawyer also said he considers “ridiculous” all the exposure NBC TV is giving to the case. The network has shown Sean interacting with the father, arriving at his old house in New Jersey, opening Christmas gifts and getting back to his toddler time’s bedroom.
Tostes stated that the last lawsuit in Brazil in favor of Goldman was filed by the Brazilian Attorney General and paid by Brazilian taxpayers’ money: “The Federal Government spent Brazilian taxpayers’ money and he is charging for his attorney.”
Sean’s Brazilian grandmother, Silvana Bianchi, didn’t want to make a longer comment on Goldman’s actions, saying only that she was “appalled.”
She talked about her own feelings, however: “I’m terrified. I’m tired of watching TV, I’m very upset, I’d rather not see.”
Bianchi revealed she spoke to Sean on Tuesday. The call, according to her, was made from David Goldman’s phone and lasted about 15 minutes. “I asked if he was okay, he said he was missing us a lot. It was grandma’s talk, concerned with her grandson’s health. He said all was going well. My heart is with him, we think of him all day.”
The grandmother said that she is waiting for a court decision to visit her grandson in the U.S. “I didn’t want to let Sean go, but had to allow it because of the law. So, the same way there is a law for him there is a law for me,” she added in a reference to the fact that she needs legal authorization to be able to see the boy in the United States.
Tostes informed that the judicial proceedings to get Sean back to Brazil will continue in the Brazilian courts despite the decision by Brazil’s Chief Justice, Gilmar Mendes, who ruled that the American boy should be handed over to his father.
“The process is not over and we still have all the available appeals including habeas corpus. Gilmar Mendes’s decision was what is legally called anticipated guardianship. It was against this decision I said I wouldn’t appeal, because the risk of Sean being subject to seizure by police force was immense,” the lawyer stated.
Brazil’s Minister of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, Paulo Vannuchi defended on Tuesday the Brazilian court’s decision to hand over Sean to his father. According to a statement from his office, the Supreme Court’s (STF) decision complied with the Hague Convention, of which Brazil is a signatory.
“Any child taken from the country in which he lives to another country, and who is retained without the consent of one of the parents, should be immediately taken back, so that all matters relating to custody and visitation can be decided in the country of habitual residence,” wrote the minister in a note.
