Far be it from ABC to pay for interviews -- something they say they don't do -- but they will pay to stuff the stomachs of those they interview and then drive them comfortably to their hotel ... which is exactly what happened with the Heene family last night.
We got the entire Balloon Family out for a fabulous sushi dinner at Ocean Grill in NYC.
Sources told TMZ that ABC paid the tab. We contacted ABC and they acknowledged they broke tuna rolls with the Balloons and did foot the bill.
Now here's the best part -- a source at GMA says, "We did not pay for a limo to drive them around the city. We did have a car service (SUV) take the family as they required a bigger car. "
For a convicted felon, Richard Heene claims he has some serious job opportunities flyin' in from N.Y. -- where there isn't a high demand for carpenters or balloon builders ... you know what they do need? TV show guests...
In court today, Richard Heene's lawyer told the judge that Balloon Dad wanted to roll to NYC -- to seek "an opportunity for employment" in the next week ... while he still happens to be relevant.
The lawyer also stated that Heene, "has other plans to go to California." Of course he does...
Wonder if he'll wind up on "Entertainment Something."
UPDATE -- Heene's lawyer tells TMZ his trips to NY and Cali are not for media interviews and that he has advised his client to "shut up."
Ten years before the Balloon Boy hoax, Richard Heene pulled an equally unfunny stunt -- only this time his kid really was in danger.
We've obtained footage of Richard Heene from 10 years ago -- trying to shove a cigar into his then infant son Bradford's mouth -- while posing him with an empty bottle of beer ... and it's all for the cameras.
At one point Mayumi can be heard telling him "No" -- but Richard doesn't stop ... seemingly obsessed with getting what he thinks is the perfect shot.
P.S. -- We apologize in advance for Richard's incredibly grating, beyond annoying baby talk.
There's one man in the Balloon Boy saga who isn't a total media whore -- the Larimer County Sheriff claims he told Dr. Phil to kick rocks!
Sheriff Jim Alderden just posted a hilarious blog on the LCSO's website -- describing all the craziness he put up with in the wake of that little "spaceship balloon incident" ... and he didn't hold back.
In the blog, Alderden claims he was inundated with calls and emails from all sorts of "wing-nuts" -- some of whom called him "big mouthed," "fat" and "bald-headed."
Alderden quotes one person who wrote in just to criticize his American flag shirt -- saying " I will encourage any federal investigators working with you on the balloon boy case to charge you with crimes against the flag if that shirt is worn again."
Jim fared better with the Finnish -- one foreign fan telling him "you are good looking, a 'real man' ... you have a sense of humor when you tell the story." Alderden replied, "I might be moving to a Scandinavian country at the end of my term."
But the best call came in from a guy who claimed he had proof Hillary Clinton was an alien. The Sheriff's reply -- "At least that caller had some credibility."
"Law & Order: SVU" star B.D. Wong took the harshest, most volatile stance yet on Balloon Boy's parents today in D.C. -- saying ... wait for it ... "That was beyond uncool."
The only things flying in this Heene-related video are fists -- when one of the family's neighbors went nuclear on media members covering the story.
It all went down Sunday outside Balloon Boy's home, when one ticked off neighbor got into the face of someone from the news. But as tensions rose, another bystander jumped on the neighbor's back and tried to take him out.
Both men went crashing to the ground -- and the neighbor began to throw punches.
Harvey, Mike, Max and Rick were on live today -- where they answered questions on the Heene family's past run-ins with the law, went on a random Charles Manson tangent and hit on Harvey's "pathetic" book sales.
Plus -- how our Mel Gibson DUI story is causing a giant first amendment controversy, a debate over "The Best Song Ever Written, Harvey says "Save the Pigs!" and breaking Khloe and Lamar news.
Richard Heene thought about sending one of his kids flying through the air at high, uncontrollable speeds before -- though the first time, he didn't actually stage an elaborate hoax around the idea.
TMZ has obtained a clip of Heene's Internet show -- which he also sold on DVD -- called "The Psyience Detectives." Heene often put his kids on the show, which featured Richard trying out his various crack pot scientific theories. His wife Mayumi also served as an editor.
In this particular clip, Richard shoots a 60lb rocket into the air and shouts, "60 pounds! That's like launching one of my little children" ... foreshadowing faux-flying-Falcons to come.
Unlike the balloon, Heene had full FAA approval for this launch.
T.G.I.F. -- Harvey and Mike answered your questions on everything today, including Lindsay Lohan getting another year of probation, the Balloon Boy family's reality TV aspirations and Jon Gosselin's TLC lawsuit.
The Heene family has released video of their flying saucer "accidentally" taking flight -- before they allegedly thought six-year-old was inside.
Papa Richard Heene can be seen releasing the balloon and then screaming at his wife for not holding onto the tether. One of their other sons is working the camera. Falcon is MIA, presumably already in a box in the attic.
So ... real deal, or Part 1 of an elaborate set-up?
UPDATE:BTW -- the vom-fest was edited out of the West Coast airing of "Today." UPDATE: TMZ has learned the Larimer County Sheriff's Dept. has called an internal meeting at 8 AM local time to determine what they're going to do in this case.
Just when you thought the balloon boy saga couldn't get more twisted, six-year-old Falcon Heene just threw up during a live interview ... while his father and Meredith Vieira kept chatting it up.
Right after the family was asked to explain Falcon's comments on Larry King Live that his "disappearance" was "all for the show," the kid asked his mom to "give me the cup" ... and, well, you can guess what happened next.
He walked off an interview earlier during "GMA" for the same reason.
TMZ just spoke with the Larimer County Sheriff's Dept. who told us they are aware of Falcon Heene's comments on "Larry King Live" tonight -- and are "investigating the situation."
Cops also tells us they've been inundated with calls from tipsters who wanted to give cops a heads up that the 6-year-old, who was thought to have been trapped in a runaway home made balloon earlier today, explained to Larry King Live, "We did this for the show."
UPDATE: Police are reportedly looking for a box that was attached to the bottom of the balloon -- a box Falcon's brother says he saw him go into before it took off. UPDATE: Police are currently conducting a ground search for the boy. UPDATE: We just heard on a police scanner that the boy is not inside the balloon. The balloon was in the air for over two hours -- no one knows where the boy is. Cops say they checked the house, and an area where people reported seeing something fall out of the balloon ... nada.
UPDATE: The balloon landed around 40 miles from where it started. It landed well.
A 6-year-old boy somehow climbed inside a homemade, helium-powered aircraft in Ft. Collins, Colorado -- and now the craft is careening out of control with the boy stuck inside.
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says the 6-year-old boy's family was building an experimental aircraft which had a large helium balloon attached to it at their home on Fossil Ridge Road in Fort Collins, this according KDVR in Denver.
The family told officials the boy got onto the aircraft and was able to untie the rope that held the aircraft in place. The device -- which is 20 feet long -- has the potential to rise to 10,000 feet.
The Larimer County Emergency Manager says, "The structure at the bottom of the craft (where the boy is stuck) is made of extremely thin plywood and won't withstand any kind of crash at all."
There's one man in the Balloon Boy saga who isn't a total media whore -- the Larimer County Sheriff claims he told Dr. Phil to kick rocks! 
TMZ just spoke with the Larimer County Sheriff's Dept. who told us they are aware of Falcon Heene's comments on "Larry King Live" tonight -- and are "investigating the situation."
