Joseph "Joey" Buttafuoco (born March 11, 1956) 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. 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 had been wearing. The t-shirt, emblazoned with the "Complete Auto Body & Fender" logo of Buttafuoco's auto body shop in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, had been a gift from Joey to Fisher. Joey Buttafuoco realized the implications of the description and accused Fisher as the shooter.

Fisher served seven years in Albion Correctional Facility for the crime. Buttafuoco pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape and served six months in jail. He and his wife later moved to California, divorcing on February 3, 2003.

According to a March 25, 2008 interview with Buttafuoco on the Drew and Mike radio show (101.1 WRIF Detroit), Fisher was actually carrying the t-shirt with the logo of Buttafuoco's body shop on it. She threw the shirt at Mary Jo after she shot her. The shirt was actually a gift from Buttafuoco to Fisher's father, with whom Joey was good friends.