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Joey Buttafuoco
Born	Joseph A. Buttafuoco March 11, 1956 (1956-03-11) (age 54) Massapequa, New York, U.S.
Occupation	auto body shop owner

Joseph A. "Joey" Buttafuoco (born March 11, 1956) is an American auto body shop owner who made headlines in 1992 for his affair with then-underage Amy Fisher (born August 21, 1974), who subsequently shot Joey's wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco (born May 15, 1955), in the face.

Prior history

Buttafuoco met Mary Jo Connery when they were both sophomores at Massapequa High School in Long Island, New York. The couple were married at St. Rose of Lima church in Massapequa on September 4, 1977. The couple's first child, Paul, was born in January, 1980 and their second child, Jessica, was born in March, 1983. In 1987 Buttafuoco completed a residential drug treatment program for cocaine addiction.^[1]

Incident

Buttafuoco had an affair with then-underage Amy Fisher, who subsequently shot Joey's wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco, in the face. Although deafened in one ear and her face partially paralyzed, Mary Jo survived the shooting and was able to give a description of a t-shirt her assailant wore. The t-shirt, with the "Complete Auto Body & Fender" logo of Buttafuoco's auto body shop in Baldwin, Nassau County, was a gift from Buttafuoco to Fisher. Buttafuoco realized the implications of the description and accused Fisher as the shooter.

Aftermath

After being convicted for the shooting, Fisher served seven years in Albion Correctional Facility for the crime. Buttafuoco pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape and served four months in jail.^[2] He and his wife later moved to California, divorcing on February 3, 2003.^[3]

Unrelated charges

Buttafuoco has been charged with crimes on numerous occasions since the Amy Fisher incident.

• In 1995, he pleaded no contest to a solicitation of prostitution charge and was fined and placed on probation for two years.^[4]
• In 2004, he was sentenced to a year in jail and five years of probation after pleading guilty to auto insurance fraud.
• In August 2005, he was charged with illegal possession of ammunition owing to his convicted felon status. Probation officers found the ammunition during a search of his home. He pleaded no contest and began serving his sentence on Jan. 8, 2007.^[5] He was released on April 28, 2007.^[6]

Media appearances

The significant coverage of the Amy Fisher incident made Buttafuoco a minor celebrity. Shortly after the case surfaced, Andrew Dice Clay invited Buttafuoco to appear in one of his stand-up routines. Buttafuoco, a Dice Clay fan first agreed, but later declined after accepting legal advice. In 2002, he participated in the Fox Network's Celebrity Boxing, originally slated to oppose John Wayne Bobbitt, who dropped out due to being arrested for domestic abuse. Bobbitt was replaced by female pro wrestler Joanie "Chyna" Laurer.^[7] Buttafuoco, despite being booed, won the fight in a majority decision (29–28, 29–27, 28–28).^[8] In 2006, he and Amy Fisher were reunited at the Lingerie Bowl for the coin toss.^[9] In a story reported in the New York Post, reality show producer David Krieff suggests Buttafucco and Fisher are currently "dating" again, although this is not supported by any direct statements from either Buttafuoco or Fisher.^[10] On May 23, 2007 Mary Jo Buttafucco appeared on CNN's Larry King Live program to discuss the recent reunion of her ex-husband and the former "Long Island Lolita."^[11] Joey Buttafuoco and Mary Jo Buttafuoco have been regular guests of The Howard Stern Show since 1992. However, despite many news articles reporting his rumored romance with Fisher, Buttafuoco's second wife, Evanka, withdrew her divorce petition on June 22, 2007, and apparently has reconciled with him.^[12]

Joey Buttafuoco appeared on the Judge Jeanine Pirro show on March 5, 2009 to dispute a call girl who refuses to pay for car repairs. The call girl, "Peaches", had — after repairs were completed — requested to pay for the work with sex, instead of the $4,700 owned for the repairs to her Corvette. Joey won his settlement.

In his last year of hosting Late Night with David Letterman on NBC, talk show host David Letterman adopted Buttafuoco's last name as a recurring punchline.

Film career

Buttafuoco made his film debut as a cab driver in Cul-de-Sac (video title: Better Than Ever), by the Nigerian-born filmmaker Uzo. He subsequently appeared in Finding Forrester, The Underground Comedy Movie, Mafia Movie Madness, Skin Walker, and Operation Repo: The Movie.

Radio career

Buttafuoco hosts a live talk radio show dedicated to recovery topics.

References

External links

• Mary Jo Buttafuoco released a tell-all memoir, which was widely covered by the media, July, 2009
• Mary Jo Buttafuoco tells her story on The Oprah Winfrey Show
• Joey Buttafuoco hosting radio talk show on the Let's Talk Recovery network every Wednesday evening
• Red Light District to Distribute Joey Buttafuoco Sex Video, Reuters, 7 January 2008