Buttafuoco Behind Bars

Joey Buttafuoco, whose 17-year-old lover became known as the “Long Island Lolita” after shooting his wife in the face, has been sentenced to a year in jail for auto insurance fraud. Buttafuoco, 48, pleaded guilty to a single felony count and was immediately booked into the Los Angeles County Jail. Prosecutors said Buttafuoco, who co-owns a San Fernando Valley body shop, told undercover investigators how to file phony insurance claims for undamaged cars. He was arrested in December. Defense attorney Jonathan J. Kissel said that because Buttafuoco is a public figure “any drawing out of the case would work to his disadvantage.” Superior Court Judge David Horwitz also sentenced Buttafuoco to five years of probation and ordered him to pay more than $4,600 in restitution. Buttafuoco was a New York auto body shop owner in 1992 when his lover, high school student Amy Fisher, shot his wife in the face in a case that drew nationwide notoriety and became the source for several made-for-TV movies. Fisher served seven years in prison. Buttafuoco pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape and served four months in jail. He and his wife later moved to California and divorced.