Richard Heene, the Colorado father whose quest for reality TV fame involved falsely claiming his son was adrift in a homemade balloon, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and four years probation. Thirty days of the 90 day sentence will be fulltime in jail, while the remaining 60 will be on work-release. A judge said Heene must start serving on January 11, "I will delay this until after the holiday in fairness mostly to his children." Heene apologized, "I'm very, very sorry. I apologize to all the rescue workers out there, the people who got involved," and wife Mayumi Heene will be sentenced later. They owe $42,000 related to authorities' expenses involved in tracking down the balloon. more ›

The Colorado parents who apparently orchestrated a massive hoax involving a runaway helium balloon and their young son last month will plead guilty to charges, according to their lawyer. A statement from lawyer David Lane said, "Richard and Mayumi Heene will enter pleas of guilty in Larimer County Court.... Mayumi Heene will plead guilty to False Reporting to Authorities, a class 3 misdemeanor (the lowest level misdemeanor in Colorado law) with a stipulated sentence of probation. Richard Heene will plead guilty to Attempting to Influence a Public Servant, a class 4 felony. The prosecutor has stipulated to a sentence of probation." more ›

Aha! The AP reports, "According to documents released today by Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, the boy's mother, Mayumi Heene, told authorities two days after the balloon flight that she and her husband knew all along that their son Falcon was hiding in the residence and was not in the balloon." Also, she allegedly said that the balloon was made for the hoax and that they were trying to get a reality show deal. Her husband's lawyer dismissed the news, "Her English is not that great, first of all." more ›

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters that the "Balloon" Boy incident of October 15, 2009 that riveted the world was a just a big ploy for attention (mission accomplished!), "It has been determined that this is a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt and we believe we have evidence at this point to indicate that this was a publicity stunt in hopes to better market themselves for a reality show." He also said Richard and Mayumi Heene "put on a very good show for us, and we bought it." more ›

"Balloon" Boy FOREVER! After yesterday's not-quite press conference where "Balloon" dad Richard Heene simply claimed again that Thursday's Fort Collins, Colorado runaway balloon was not hoax and offered a cardboard box for reporters' questions, the Larimer County Sheriff's office announced they were preparing charges against the Heene family. According to the Denver Post, "The sheriff did not give specifics, but he said the charges would probably be a Class 3 misdemeanor. False reporting is a Class 3 misdemeanor." more ›

After telling the media that he had a "big announcement" to make at 10 a.m. (CST), Richard Heene, father of "Balloon" boy Falcon, just told reporters to put their questions in a cardboard box—and that he'd answer them at an evening press conference. Oh, the poor media camped out in Fort Collins—a reporter should have puked into it! TMZ was not impressed—the gossip site, familiar with the antics of Jon Gosselin and Michael Lohan, deemed it "the dumbest press conference of all-time." more ›

The Larimer County Sheriff's Department will investigate the family suspected of falsely claiming that a 6-year-old boy was trapped inside a runaway helium balloon yesterday. Sources tell TMZ that officials have not decided if it's a criminal investigation, but detectives will interview each family member starting tomorrow. (The family's presumably all booked up with interviews today.) The investigation will try to determine whether the parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, filed a false report, perhaps motivated by an insatiable lust for fame—TLC confirms the family did pitch a reality TV show earlier this year. more ›

Earlier today, a 6-year-old boy was believed to have been in a homemade helium balloon that floated away over northeastern Colorado, sending the media into a frenzy. When the balloon finally landed, the boy was nowhere to be found. After a search, he was found in his family's attic. more ›