Amy Fisher

Early life

Fisher was born in Merrick, on Long Island, New York, to Elliot and Roseann Fisher; her father was Jewish while her mother's family, Fisher said, was "was a mixture of a lot of different things, including English." As a 16-year-old student at Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York, Fisher began a sexual relationship with 35-year-old Joey Buttafuoco after damaging the car her parents had given her for her 16th birthday and appealing to Buttafuoco, owner of the body shop to which she took it, to make the repairs without her family knowing of the damage.

Crime and prison

Fisher gradually fell in love with Joey Buttafuoco and became increasingly jealous of his wife. Eventually the then 17-year-old Fisher shared with Buttafuoco her idea of murdering her. According to Fisher, Buttafuoco helped her plan the shooting and told her about his wife's habits and when she was usually home.

With the aid of Peter Guagenti, Fisher obtained a .25 caliber pistol and then went out to steal a set of license plates off a neighbourhood car. On May 19, 1992, Guagenti helped Fisher put the license plates on his Pontiac Firebird and then drove her to the Buttafuoco home in Massapequa, New York. Fisher later explained to the police that she had expected Guagenti to carry out the shooting, but he refused. When Mary 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 for her "proof." The conversation lasted about 15 minutes, but Buttafuoco became increasingly angry with Fisher's claims. She finally told her to leave and then turned her back to go back into the house. Fisher then produced the gun, struck Buttafuoco in the head with it, and then aimed at her temple and fired. Buttafuoco fell to the ground, severely wounded. Fisher dropped the shirt and the gun and ran towards the car, but Guagenti told her to take the evidence with her, so she ran back to retrieve both items and then they both fled the scene. Neighbors called 911 and came to Buttafuoco's aid. She was operated on all night, and although unable to remove the bullet, the doctors were able to save her life.

When interviewed by police, Joey Buttafuoco told them that Fisher could be the shooter. Police Detective Martin Alger got hold of a photo of Fisher, and when Mary Jo Buttafuoco regained consciousness the next day, she was able to recognize Fisher from the photo. Fisher was arrested and charged with attempted murder, and on September 23, 1992, she pleaded guilty to first-degree assault.

The Paul Makely tape

In September 1992, the tabloid television show Hard Copy broadcast a secretly 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 get married to 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 a Ferrari."

Imprisonment

On December 2, 1992, Fisher was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison. She served seven years and was granted parole in May 1999 after Supreme Court Judge Ira Wexner vacated (withdrew) her guilty plea and shortened her sentence.

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 with statutory rape. Buttafuoco pleaded guilty in October 1993. He served six months in prison.

Life after prison

After her release from prison, Fisher became a columnist for the Long Island Press. She dictated a book about her experiences, If I Knew Then..., to Russell Wolliver, whose transcription of her dictations was published in 2004. In 2003, Fisher married Louis Bellera. The couple had three children before divorcing in 2015.

Fisher and Buttafuoco revisited

In 2006, Fisher reunited with Mary Jo Buttafuoco in sessions televised for Entertainment 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", without giving an explanation. Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco eventually reunited for the first time at the 2006 Lingerie Bowl for the coin toss.

In May 2007, Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco met for dinner in Port Jefferson, Long Island, in what TV producer David Krieff said was an attempt to develop a reality-television show. In June and July 2011 Fisher appeared as a cast member in the fifth season of the reality-television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which aired on VH1.

Sex tape and adult entertainment career

In October 2007, the New York Post published allegations that Fisher's husband, Lou Bellera, had sold a sex tape of the couple to Red Light District Video of Los Angeles. Red Light District Video published a press release stating that it intended to release a sex video of the couple. On October 31, nude pictures of Fisher from the video were posted at various internet sites, and on November 1, 2007, a teaser clip was released by Red Light District Video that showed a nude Fisher showering and sunbathing. Of note were a tattoo surrounding her navel and a breast augmentation. On November 6, 2007, Fisher sued Red Light District and its owner David Joseph, claiming copyright infringement and other damages. But by November 8, 2007, amyfisher.com, a website of whose ownership Fisher had previously fought to win, had begun pointing directly to the Red Light District website.

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 Bellera had reconciled. The promotional appearance took place at Retox in New York City on January 4, 2008. Clips of the video were played on The 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. But after the first phone call, which was from Mary Jo Buttafuoco's daughter Jessica, Fisher left the show six minutes into her interview.

On January 12, 2009, Fisher released a pay-per-view adult film titled Amy Fisher: Totally Nude & Exposed. Fisher signed a deal with Lee Entertainment to become a stripper doing club shows at least once a month. Fisher claimed she planned to strip till her fans told her, "Dear, please put your clothes back on. You're too old." In September 2010, DreamZone Entertainment released the adult film Deep 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 title The Making of Amy Fisher: Porn Star. In June 2011, Fisher said she was no longer making adult films.

Books and films

According to Alan Ball, Fisher's story was an inspiration to him in his writing the script for the 1999 film American Beauty.