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."
Those awful Balloon Boy parents are finally going to fess up to what we've all suspected for weeks -- that they're guilty of engineering the entire hoax.
Richard Heene's attorney issued a statement explaining how Richard will plead guilty Friday morning to an offense of attempting to influence a public servant -- a felony. His wife, Mayumi, will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities -- a misdemeanor.
The Heenes could receive jail time for the charges stemming from the infamous Oct. 15 incident, but Richard's attorney claims the prosecutor has only recommended probation.
The attorney also claims the couple agreed to the deal because Mayumi was afraid of being deported. The lawyer explained that she's currently a Japanese citizen and "any felony conviction or certain misdemeanors would result in her deportation, even though her husband and children are Americans."
The mother of the "Balloon Boy" has finally come clean, admitting the whole ridiculous fiasco was the hoax everybody knew it was anyway.
In a search warrant affidavit that was released today, Mayumi Heene told sheriff's deputies she and Richard "knew all along that Falcon was hiding in the residence."
In the document, it says "Mayumi described that she and Richard Heene devised this hoax approximately two weeks earlier ... she and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax."
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden has said he will recommend charges against the family including conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant.
TMZ has learned Richard Heene was reported to the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services several years before the "Balloon Boy" hoax.
The information comes directly from Heene himself -- who hand-wrote the revelation in a 2006 request for a restraining order he filed against a guy who worked for his production company in 2004.
In the docs, Heene explains how Matt Wineroth reported him to DCFS sometime before March 2006. It's unclear what allegations Wineroth made in the report.
But here's where it gets crazy -- Heene claims Wineroth only filed the "erroneous" report in retaliation for an incident in 2004 ... when Wineroth was arrested on suspicion of stealing computer records from Heene's company.
In the docs, Heene says he needed the restraining order to get Wineroth to "stop falsely reporting derogatory information to agencies who have an interest to conduct investigations resulting in wasting my time."
In the end, Heene's request for a restraining order against Wineroth was eventually dismissed because Richard was a no-show in court.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden says they have evidence that the runaway balloon incident was a "hoax" and a "publicity stunt" to promote a reality show.
Alderden says they plan on filing charges against Richard and Mayumi Heene soon -- one of which would be contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which is a felony. The other charges could be conspiracy, false reporting and attempt to influence an officer.
The most significant charges they face could result in a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
The kids will probably not face charges, Alderden says, because of their age. Alderden says Child Protective Services has been notified and will be conducting an investigation. Alderden says the hoax was a "planned event for two weeks."
Alderden said that if the charges do go forward, they will seek restitution for all the expenses the county incurred. He doesn't believe anyone would serve jail time because of the overcrowding situtation in Colorado and because it would be their first offense.
He did not set a time frame for when arrests would be made.
The sheriff also said this about Richard Heene: "His education level is only high school ... he may be nutty, but he's not a professor."
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?
We now know how that Jaclyn Smith gunshot wound story got started yesterday -- Jaclyn wasn't shot in Honduras, but her stunt double was.
Sandra Franklin, a woman who doubled for Smith on "Charlie's Angels," is reportedly in stable condition after getting shot in the abdomen in her home on Roatan Island, off the Honduran coast.
If Matt Damon died in the treacherous mountains of Palos Verdes, it's certainly news to him.
Damon was on Letterman last night, where when asked about a ridiculous fake articlethat announced his death -- which INCORRECTLY cited TMZ as a source -- Matt replied, "I haven't heard, but I feel pretty good."
Our apologies to the two of you who actually fell for it, but this video allegedly showing Michael Jackson jumping out of the back of his own coroner's van last week was all a hoax.
German broadcaster RTL says they created the video and posted it with the purpose of showing "how easily users can be manipulated on the internet with hoax videos."
The video wasn't even shot in L.A. -- but Cologne, Germany.
The mother of the "Balloon Boy" has finally come clean, admitting the whole ridiculous fiasco was the hoax everybody knew it was anyway.
TMZ has learned Richard Heene was reported to the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services several years before the "Balloon Boy" hoax.
We now know how that Jaclyn Smith gunshot wound story got started yesterday -- Jaclyn wasn't shot in Honduras, but her stunt double was.
