Foolish father of ‘balloon boy’ in jail — still spinning a yarn

Two days before Christmas, Richard Heene, 48, choked back tears as he apologized in court for the frenzy caused when he claimed his 6-year-old son, Falcon, was inside a giant homemade helium balloon that had floated away from the backyard of their Fort Collins, Colo., home.

Heene was sentenced to 90 days in jail — he turned himself in Monday at the Larimer County Detention Center in Fort Collins — and will spend 30 days and nights behind bars. However, he is eligible for work release during the last 60 days of the sentence.

But the mea culpas from this attention-grabbing fool turned out to be another hoax, as evidenced by his appearance on the Larry King Show that was aired Jan. 8. In his first television interview since shortly after the Oct. 15 saga that was televised around the world, he insisted that he believed his son was in the flying saucer-shaped balloon when it took off.

“We had searched the house high and low,” Heene said, choking back tears — again. “I knew he was in the craft. ... In my mind there was no other place.”

Why, then, did he plead guilty? To protect his wife, Mayumi, who is a Japanese citizen, he said. He claimed that Mayumi does not speak and understand English very well and, therefore, wasn’t clear about what was happening. That’s nonsense.

When the mother of the “balloon boy” admitted that the whole saga of the runaway balloon was a hoax, she was not under duress and certainly was not being bullied by sheriff’s deputies or prosecutors because of her lack of communication skills.

Indeed, the mother knew the scam was up when her son, during a family appearance on CNN soon after the incident, looked at his father and made a comment that sounded like, “You guys said we did this for the show.”

Mayumi admitted to sheriff’s deputies that the couple “knew all along that Falcon was hiding in the residence.”

She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities and was sentenced to 20 days in jail. She will begin serving her sentence after her husband is released.

Publicity hound

As to what Heene, who pleaded guilty to a felony count of attempting to influence a public servant, was after in denying last week that he knew his son wasn’t in the balloon, the answer is clear: Publicity.

He knew that his claim of innocence on the Larry King Show would grab the attention of the press, which it did, and make his reporting to jail a media event, which it was.

Even though law enforcement authorities said they were shocked by Heene’s contention that he believed his son was in the balloon, it has been clear from the very beginning that this man and his family intend to financially benefit from the saga. They had planned to star in a reality show and had been in contact with a production company.

And although they have been barred from profiting from their celebrity status for the next four years, they will do whatever is necessary to keep this story alive.

Heene must complete 100 hours of community service each year, which he no doubt will use to attract even more attention to himself.

The 90-day jail term was a tap on the wrist. Heene could have been put away for six years had he been charged with and convicted of conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities, and attempting to influence a public servant.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent by the public agencies that were involved in the chase of the balloon because of the claim that the 6-year-old boy was inside.

National Guard helicopters were scrambled amd the Denver International Airport was shut down for a while.

Richard Heene deserved more than a 90-day jail sentence.