Parents of the year Richard and Mayumi Heene, received their sentences and a tongue lashing from the judge for their attempt to garner publicity in the Balloon Boy hoax, using their six-year old son Falcon.
"What this case is about is deception, exploitation — exploitation of the children of the Heenes, exploitation of the media and exploitation of people’s emotions — and money," District Judge Stephen Schapanski said.
The odd phenomena of the decade, "reality tv" has extended fifteen minutes of fame into a half hour of notoriety. The recent party crashers at the White House are proof of this bizarre quest to become instant celebrities of a sort.
Richard Heene was determined to gain a reality show after several rejections. Publicity is what he was seeking, and he certainly got it. He could have received a much greater sentence and his wife was in danger of being deported to
Japan. For his misdemeanor, he received 90 days and 4 years of probation during which he cannot gain from the exploit. Somehow I feel we’ll be hearing from Richard Heene in exactly four years. Falcon’s mother Mayumi received 20
days in jail and 4 years probation as well.