Don't take it from THG - although it's so obvious that you very well could - just ask the L.A. Department of Children and Family Services or the people he shopped reality shows to long before he orchestrated the Balloon Boy hoax.
Richard Heene was reported to CFS by Matt Wineroth in March 2006 for an incident Heene claims Wineroth filed the "erroneous" report over in retaliation.
Retaliation for what? Matt Wineroth was arrested on suspicion of stealing computer records from Heene's company a few years prior. This dude is so shady.
At the end of that drama, Heene's request for a restraining order against Wineroth was eventually dismissed because Richard himself was a no-show in court.
Meanwhile, the CEO of a big production company says Heene lied his way through Hollywood hocking a show that could have put his kids in harm's way.
Tom Forman of Relativity Real and creator of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, says he saw the Heene family on Wife Swap and was "intrigued and aghast."
Pretty much sums up the Balloon Boy saga overall.
Richard Heene is full of more hot air than his flying contraption.
Forman says he spoke with Heene on the phone a month ago to discuss Heene's idea for a reality show about his family - including small kids chasing storms.
Forman says Heene gave his word that he had not pitched the show to anyone else. Turns out, just days later, Forman's employees were in a meeting with TLC about another show and they raised the Heene same reality TV show proposal.
The TLC folks said not only had Heene pitched the show to them a week earlier, he flew to L.A. to personally make the sell, totally playing multiple sides.
Forman says Heene is a "liar" and told him never to contact them again.
Richard Heene and accomplices in the Balloon Boy hoax are looking at felony charges for wasting everyone's time and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It kind makes you want to throw up, too.
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13 Comments
October 20th, 2009 8:46 AM
Yeah, him and his wife created 3 monsters. Just watching clips of them on Wife Swap, the kids talk like truck drivers and act like monkeys in a zoo. The parents think it's funny because instead of scolding them, they laugh. Nice.
October 20th, 2009 9:23 AM
Poor kids it's not their fault their parents are using them for their self-centered ambitions.
October 20th, 2009 10:11 AM
him and his wife are both "nuts" and need to be locked up for a long time and send thoes kids put somewhere where they can have a normal life.
i bet thoes kids can tell some real good stories of abuse and fear for there lives.
this man needs alot of help dont let him back out in the streets.
the next thing he will be saying he is "SUPERMAN".
god you can look in his eyes and tell he is not in his right mind.
what does it take to get these kind of people off the streets.
And we wonder why these kids act like they do.
October 20th, 2009 10:57 AM
I feel terrible for the kids. Those two "adults" are selfish. They robbed their children of their livelihood.
October 20th, 2009 11:01 AM
yea i do feel bad for those little kids....and they arent monsters they cant help how their parents are raising them they are not being shown the right ways they are just acting out the way that their parents let them and that is just normal for them
October 20th, 2009 11:16 AM
CHARGE and FINE the parents and PUT them both IN JAIL!! They are BAD SELFISH parents! They DON'T think or care about their kids!!
October 20th, 2009 12:42 PM
This story is a blogger's dream. Those people need to get a big fine and they will. I have so much to say about this I don't know where to start. He will never get a show now I can tell you that. The kids are innocent and now they have to deal with all this bad flak.
October 20th, 2009 4:16 PM
i think this guy is a sociopath, he has a history of violence, a criminal record, obviously planned to scam that whole state and country into looking for his son, and seems full of rage...there is a reason this little boy threw up, kids do that out of fear, or just nausea over being in the presence of someone disturbed and dangerous. plus did u see the very suppressed rage that came over him when the boy said, we did this for a show...how much do u want to bet that he probably abused that kid right after they went home, because he thinks the boy screwed everything up for him. child protective services need to separate the mother and children from him, and get them serious therapy...
October 20th, 2009 10:15 PM
I feel his wife might be maniupulated though, reading into reports now.
I think it's Richard Heene at the center of it, with his wife and three children being the pawns he uses for his own gain.
October 21st, 2009 3:26 PM
This is a sad story filled with a family of sad characters.The children have been raised without common guidelines; the father has a creative mind which has gone astray; the mother has lost her spine.
I see no good outcome in this travesty. Just more sadness.