"Balloon Boy" family, the Heenes, to auction balloon for charity, report says
(CBS/AP) FORT COLLINS, Colorado - They're baaaack. The lovable wacky Heene family - that's the Colorado Heenes, as in the couple who lied about their son floating away in a silver helium balloon that transfixed a nation, and nearly brought global commerce to a crashing halt for a day back in October 2009.
Now, those civic-minded Heenes - Richard and Mayumi, both convicted in the "balloon boy" case - say they will auction off the balloon to raise money for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief.TMZ.com posted a video in which the couple says they'll work with California lawyer Perry Rausher on the auction. Rausher confirmed to the Coloradoan newspaper that he is working with the Heenes.
In the video, Richard Heene says you can buy the saucer-shaped craft right now for $1 million, vowing every penny will go to charity.
You'll remember that the Heenes' son, Falcon, wasn't actually in the balloon when it floated away in Fort Collins, Colo in '09. Mayumi Heene served 20 days in jail for filing a false report. Richard Heene served 30 days in jail for a felony count of attempting to influence a public servant.
Terms of their probation say they can't profit from their story until 2013.
Look, we enjoy a good auction of pop culture debris as much as the next person, but we'll sit this one out.