For those that may be interested some changes have occurred that needed to happen.
I only got the sketchiest of details, but it seems that he was being a real terror with near daily misbehavior and the threat of expulsion from school. Somewhere along the way the mother decided that he needed the belt. He disagreed, slapped her across the face, they fought, he got a black eye, and two days later was on a plane to the new wifes parents for a week because the father and new wife were on a business trip.
I'm told that since he's been away from his mother he's been an absolute peach, with both the new in laws and his father, no real misbehavior to speak of. Apparently, he was either making as big a stink as possible intentionally in order to get what he wanted, or he was acting out from anger at not getting something he wanted, which I can only presume was to be with Dad. Not sure which is the better view on that, LOL. There are no current plans for long term custody with mother and the father plans on private school for the boy. Who knows maybe this'll work out after all