Amy Fisher | |
|---|---|
 Fisher in 2004 | |
| Born | Amy Elizabeth Fisher August 1974 (age 51) Merrick, New York, U.S. |
| Known for | "Long Island Lolita" incident |
Amy Elizabeth Fisher (born 1974[1]) is an American woman, who, in 1992, at the age of 17, shot and severely woundedMary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife ofJoey Buttafuoco, who had initiated a sexual relationship with the underaged Fisher in 1990.[2] Buttafuoco would later be charged with statutory rape, to which he pleaded guilty and served 4 months in prison. Initially charged with first-degree attempted murder, Fisher eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated assault and served seven years in prison. Due to her age and her relationship with a much older man, she became known in thetabloid media as "the Long IslandLolita". Fisher was paroled in 1999 and became a writer, awebcam model, and apornographic actress.
Fisher was born in August 1974[3] inMerrick, New York, onLong Island,[4] to Elliot and Roseann Fisher.[5] Her father wasJewish while her mother was raised in anItalian-American family.[3][note 1] As a 16-year-old student atKennedy High School inBellmore, New York,[6] Fisher allegedly met 35-year-oldJoey Buttafuoco in 1990, when her father took his car for repairs to Buttafuoco'sauto body shop; Fisher later said she had damaged her own car several times as apretext to see him[7] and later admitted that they had an affair when she was stillunderage.[8]
In their conversations, Joey often complained about his wife, and occasionally casually insinuated to Fisher it would be nice if someone killed Mary Jo. In an effort to please Joey, the still underaged Fisher obtained a FIE Titan .25-caliber handgun[9] with the assistance of Peter Guagenti, a Brooklyn auto supply salesman who acted as her getaway driver.[10][11] WhenMary Jo Buttafuoco answered the door, Fisher told her that Joey Buttafuoco was having an affair with Fisher's (imaginary) younger sister, providing a T-shirt advertising Buttafuoco's auto body shop as "proof". The conversation lasted about 15 minutes, during which Buttafuoco became increasingly angry. She finally told Fisher to leave and then turned her back to return to the house. In a panic, Fisher took out the gun and struck Buttafuoco twice with it, which caused the gun to go off. The bullet hit Mary Jo in the right side of the head, severely wounding but not killing her. Later Fisher said Buttafuoco fell on her.[12] Fisher dropped both the shirt and the gun and ran towards the car, but then returned for them and Guagenti drove off. Neighbors called 911; Buttafuoco was operated on all night, and although they could not remove the bullet, doctors were able to save her life.[13]
When interviewed by police, Joey Buttafuoco told them that Fisher could be the shooter. When Mary Jo Buttafuoco regained consciousness the next day, she recognized Fisher from a photo. Fisher was arrested and charged with attempted murder, and on September 23, 1992, after accepting aplea bargain, she pleaded guilty to first-degree assault.[12]
In September 1992, the tabloid television showHard Copy broadcast a videotaped conversation between Fisher and Paul Makely, the owner of a gym in Massapequa. In the tape, recorded hours before she agreed to the plea in court, Fisher could be seen talking about her future, saying that she wanted to marry Makely so he could visit her in prison. Fisher explained that her lawyer believed requiring people to be married for such visits was unconstitutional and that she intended to challenge the law on this matter. Fisher could be seen on the tape saying: "That will keep my name in the press. I want my name in the press. Why? Because I can make a lot of money. I figure if I'm going through all this pain and suffering, I'm getting aFerrari."[14][15][16]
On December 2, 1992, Fisher was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison.[17] She served seven years and was granted parole in May 1999 afterNassau County Court Judge Ira Wexner shortened her maximum sentence to 10 years, which made her immediately eligible for parole. Wexner acted after having found that Fisher had not been appropriately represented by her lawyer at the time of her 1992 guilty plea.[18]
Joey Buttafuoco denied having an affair with Fisher. In October 1992, the Nassau County District Attorney stated that Buttafuoco would not be prosecuted. However, in February 1993, the case against him was reopened due to rape charges made by Fisher. She testified against him in court and based on this testimony and hotel receipts (dated before Fisher's 17th birthday) with Buttafuoco's signature on them, Buttafuoco was charged withstatutory rape. Buttafuoco pleaded guilty in October 1993. He served four months in prison.[19]
After her release from prison, Fisher became acolumnist for theLong Island Press. Her biography,If I Knew Then..., written by Robbie Woliver, was published in 2004[20] and became aNew York Times bestseller. In 2003, Fisher married. She had had three children before divorcing in 2015.[21]
In 2006, Fisher reunited with Mary Jo Buttafuoco in sessions televised forEntertainment Tonight and its spinoff,The Insider. Fisher said she wanted to heal and move on with her life. However, two years later, she said she felt "no sympathy for Mary Jo,"[22] without giving an explanation. Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco eventually reunited for the first time at the 2006Lingerie Bowl for the coin toss.
In June and July 2011 Fisher appeared as a cast member in the fifth season of thereality-television seriesCelebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which aired onVH1.[23]
In October 2007,Red Light District Video published a press release stating that it intended to release asex tape of the couple that Fisher's husband had sold the company.[24] On October 31, frames from the video, showing Fisher naked, were posted at websites; on November 1, 2007, a teaser clip was released by Red Light District Video, showing Fisher naked while she showered and sunbathed. Visible were a tattoo around her navel and the results of breast surgery. On November 6, 2007, Fisher sued Red Light District and its owner, David Joseph, claimingcopyright infringement and other damages.[25] But by November 8, 2007, amyfisher.com, a website, whose ownership Fisher had previously fought to win,[20] had begun pointing directly to the Red Light District website.[26]
In early January 2008, Fisher announced that she had settled with Red Light and agreed to do a related promotional appearance. The same announcement indicated that she and her husband had reconciled.[19] The promotional appearance took place at Retox in New York City on January 4, 2008.[27] Clips of the video were played onThe Howard Stern Show. On March 6, 2008, Fisher was a guest on the Stern show, and one topic of discussion was meant to be her video. After the first phone call, which was from Mary Jo Buttafuoco's daughter, Jessica, Fisher left the show, six minutes into her interview.[28]
On January 12, 2009, Fisher released apay-per-viewadult film,Amy Fisher: Totally Nude & Exposed.[27] She signed a deal with Lee Entertainment to become a stripper doing club shows at least once a month. Fisher said she planned to strip until her fans told her, "Dear, please put your clothes back on. You're too old."[29] In September 2010, DreamZone Entertainment released the adult filmDeep inside Amy Fisher, calling it the first of eight such films Fisher would produce and in which she would star. The company had announced the movie in July 2010 under the working titleThe Making of Amy Fisher: Porn Star.[30] In June 2011, Fisher said she was no longer making adult films.[21]
According toAlan Ball, Fisher's story was an inspiration to him in writing the script for the 1999 filmAmerican Beauty.[31]
Amy Elizabeth Fisher was born in 1974 in Long Island, New York.
'In my private life I'm married [...] I have three children.'
