Richard Heene "Terrifying," Associate Says

(CBS)  Richard Heene, the Colorado man at the center of the alleged "balloon boy" hoax, was "terrifying" to be around at times and has created an unsafe environment for his three sons, two former associates told CBS' "The Early Show".

Barbara Slusser, who worked with Heene as a stormchaser and appeared with him in the reality show "Wife Swap" said he could be "a lot of fun" sometimes, but "it could be terrifying at times when he'd go off. It was a three-ring circus."

Slusser described an incident during the filming of "Wife Swap" when she was prodded by a producer to say something about women, which made Heene go "ballistic."

"He jumped off the couch, ran down the hall, grabbed some toilet paper, and ran back and was physically trying to shove it in my mouth for my 'verbal diarrhea,'" Slusser said. "And then on top of it, once we quit, he starts screaming 'She's out of here! Get her out of my house. She can't do the show anymore.'"

Slusser didn't mention the specific comment that set Heene off.

Follow the Balloon Boy Saga at CBSNews.com:

Ex-Associate: Heene Obsessed with Fame
Lawyer:Should Balloon Boy's Parents Lose Kids?
Lawyer: Balloon Boy Parents will Surrender
Cops Seek Possible Balloon Boy Hoax Cohort
Sheriff: Balloon Boy Saga Full of Hot Air
More on the "Balloon Boy" Story at Crimesider

Scott Stevens, another former partner, said Heene was a "handful" that has "trouble staying focused and balanced."

"The one thing I wish Richard would have displayed a little more of was patience. He was very, very short patience. And once that patience was gone, Then he was angry," Stevens said, though he added that he never saw Heene get violent toward another person.

"He really had a hard time containing himself, when he was happy or sad or anything. He just lived on that edge."

The Heenes are expected to be charged this week with falsely reporting their 6-year-old son Falcon was on board a homemade UFO-shaped balloon accidentally floated away from their home. The balloon ascended thousands of feet in the air and eventually traveled 50 miles before landing in a field two hours later. With no child found on board, rescue workers feared he may have fallen out during the flight only to find that he had been safely at home the entire time.

Heene allegedly staged the event to drum up publicity for a reality show he was pitching.

Stevens has no doubt the alleged stunt, calling it "a hoax it from the beginning."

Slusser and Stevens also both agreed that Heene and his wife, Mayumi, exposed their three children - 10-year-old Bradford, 8-year-old Ryo and Falcon - to danger.

"The one time I felt that it was extremely poor judgment on his behalf was taking those kids into the eye of Hurricane Gustav," Slusser said of one of his stormchasing expeditions.

Stevens said the kids "need to be in a better environment."

[eelyn-2009]

CNN was excited to air it 24/7 so as to distract us from Obama and his bunch.

[Virgil-1]

People will do about anything to be in the movies.Hellywood here I come!

[mcdanel_1771]

An earlier poster suggested Mr. Heene could be bi-polar. A more realistic assessment is manic. As for people who are bi-polar, if they seek help it will be for their depressive phases. They love their manic phase, and don't recognize their mania as the other half of the coin.

[mintrose]

what is Colorado law enforcement waiting for?..... five dead bodies?

this man (richard heene) is obviously mental...

.....get those kids away from him!

[N0Tmine]

In my humble opinion , I honestly believe that Mr. Henne has earned his position on a high paying cable program .

I mean ..... if the most outrageous hoax in recent history was rewarded by giving the perpetrator his own cable position , mr. Henne should also be rewarded . At least his hoax (fabricated story) was NOT an attempt to change the outcome of an American Presidential Election like mr. Rathers' was .

[janeyre-2009]

Hmmm, you are really funny... This guy, should be locked up... Those children are being exploited, just like the other nuts on Reality Shows... Apples and Oranges... Why are the criminals, called bipolar, when they are White? Unfit, is more like it...

[Superocean]

He is a totally classic example of bipolar disorder.

[oneperson1]

That's exactly what I said observing his behavior. Classic example of bipolar disorder and his family appears emotionally (if not physically) abused.

[anchoragemichael]

To Bradkt1, if Heene is ordered to pay restitution for the costs of the search as a result of his pending criminal case, he CANNOT have those costs dismissed in bankruptcy. Once that judgment is imposed, the authorities will vigorously and tirelessly go after his assets and future income. If the man ends up making minimum wage at McDonald's, he'll still probably lose half of his pay, not to mention liens on his home and other property.

[plewis1956]

Why the heck are we even discussing this loser?

[greco99-2009]

Prior to the Iraq war some people sent false information to the news media.

These materials included crude forgeries about Iraq buying Yellowcake, false info about aluminum tubes for nuclear centerfuges, and unsubstantiated rumors of mobile biolabs presented as fact.

The people who committed these apparent hoaxes on the press and the American people have not ever been called to task.

Why no investigation into who forged the yellowcake memos?

I would like to see the same standard applied to the Iraq war 'hoaxers'.

[djseavy]

The Heene family, if guilty of staging this whole non-sensical event, isn't the only group seeking fame here. All of the sudden, anybody who even remotely knows Heene wants to go on camera and express their own opinion of Richard. I won't be a bit surprised if Richard's second grade teacher (if still living) pops up with some revelation. As for little Falcon and his stunning admission on LKL, I think he's just as capable of making up events as everyone says Richard is. When a 6 year-old kid asks "Who the hell is Wolf" it shows he has been taught no boundaries whatsoever. He has the look of a very devilish kid in his eye, and his smirk says a lot about where he's heading in life.