U.S. balloon boy parents plead guilty, at last

Richard and Mayumi Heene, the couple who masterminded a sensational balloon drama last month and had insisted their innocence since the hoax was exposed, gave up and pled guilty on Friday morning.
The mother and father of a six-year-old boy named Falcon, who was alleged by his parents to be aboard a helium-filled homemade balloon that drifted over the eastern Colorado on Oct. 15, pled to a misdemeanor and a felony respectively, when they entered pleas to a Larimer County court judge. They face up to six years in prison with a maximum fine of 500,000 dollars, the local district attorney office said.
The prosecutor has recommended probation,news reports said, quoting Richard Heene's attorney.
The couple was allowed to go home pending a sentencing on Dec. 23. Richard Heene, 49, a serious storm chaser, turned himself in to authorities on Thursday afternoon and was also allowed to travel to New York or California for work.
To carry out their scheme, the couple called 911 and claimed Falcon was aboard a saucer-shaped balloon they said was accidentally released from their yard. Police followed the balloon across eastern Colorado before it finally landed two hours later without anyone aboard. Falcon later emerged safely from a hiding spot in a garage attic.
To help chase the balloon, the Denver International Airport was temporarily shut down. Millions of TV viewers across the world were captivated by the scene. People in the neighborhood volunteered to help track the balloon.
In interviews with deputies Mayumi Heene, 48, a Japanese citizen, allegedly told investigators the incident was a hoax meant to make them more marketable to television producers for a possibly reality show. Richard had denied the allegation all along. However, deputies found evidence in the home that the Heenes were having financial trouble.
The balloon was made specifically for the hoax, and the hoax was intended to "influence" deputies into conducting a search and "in turn, attract media attention," it was reported.
The couple made two appearances on ABC's reality show "Wife Swap," and they had wanted to land roles in other reality shows.
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