Balloon Boy’s Parents Played Themselves, Now Pleading Guilty

The parents that formulated the zany “Balloon Boy” scheme have struck a deal and plan on pleading guilty:

The Colorado parents in last month’s notorious “balloon boy” case will plead guilty to offenses for creating a hoax that their son had flown away in a large balloon. Richard and Mayumi Heene are expected to plead guilty Friday morning in Larimer County Court, according to a statement issued by Richard Heene’s attorney.

Mayumi Heene is expected to plead guilty to an offense of false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanor of the lowest level, according to the attorney. Richard Heene is expected to plead guilty to a felony offense of attempting to influence a public servant. Though the Heenes could receive jail time for the charges, the prosecutor has recommended probation, Richard Heene’s attorney said.

The threat of deportation for Mayumi Heene was a factor in the plea deal negotiation, the attorney’s statement said. “Mayumi Heene is a citizen of Japan. As such, any felony conviction or certain misdemeanors would result in her deportation, even though her husband and children are Americans,” the statement said. “It is supremely ironic that law enforcement has expressed such grave concern over the welfare of the children, but it was ultimately the threat of taking the children’s mother from the family and deporting her to Japan which fueled this deal.”

Prosecutors in the case could not be immediately reached for comment.

Court documents released last month said the couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the incident and “instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax.” Their motive? To “make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests,” the documents said.

This is the epitome of attention whoring. You can tell the dad lives by the motto “By Any Means Necessary.” SMH