Buttafuoco Declares Innocence at Arraignment on Rape Charges

MINEOLA, N.Y. — Joey Buttafuoco declared his innocence Thursday on charges that he had sex with underage teen-ager Amy Fisher, who shot his wife in what the teen said was a lurid love-triangle.

Buttafuoco, 37, was charged with statutory rape and sodomy for allegedly having sex with Fisher in July, 1991, a month before her 17th birthday. Seventeen is the age of consent in New York.

Buttafuoco winked at his wife, Mary Jo, when he entered the courtroom. He was released without bail after the brief arraignment at Nassau County Court.

Fisher, now 18, is serving a 5-to-15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to assault for shooting Mrs. Buttafuoco in the head last May on the steps of her home in Massapequa.

Fisher, who testified against Buttafuoco before a grand jury, told authorities that she shot Mrs. Buttafuoco so she could continue an affair with her husband.

Buttafuoco has denied any involvement with Fisher. He could be sentenced to 73 years in prison if convicted on all 19 counts.

Mrs. Buttafuoco, whose face is partially paralyzed from the shooting, told reporters Thursday that she was “standing behind Joey 100%.”

“I wish the grand jury could have been on my front lawn on May 19 when that girl left me for dead in a pool of blood on my front doorstep,” Mrs. Buttafuoco said. “This girl is sick, sick. . . . The devil has come into our lives. She tried to destroy me, and when she didn’t succeed, she’s trying to destroy us.”

Prosecutors last year said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against Buttafuoco. They reopened the investigation in February when a former Buttafuoco employee came forward to say that his boss had acknowledged having sex with Fisher.