Mary Jo Buttafuoco

Mary Jo Buttafuoco
Born May 15, 1955
Occupation Author, Motivational speaker
Keynote: Hope and inspiration, recognizing and avoiding toxic relationships

Mary Jo Buttafuoco is an American author, motivational speaker, and ex-wife of Joey Buttafuoco. She was shot in the face on May 19, 1992, at her Nassau County, New York home by Amy Fisher, with whom her husband was having an affair.[1] She survived the incident and eventually wrote a book about it.

Incident

Mary Jo's husband, Joey Buttafuoco, had an affair with Amy Fisher, who subsequently shot her in the face, on May 19, 1992. Although deafened in one ear and her face partially paralyzed, she survived the shooting and was able to give a description of her assailant and a T-shirt that Fisher had shown her before she shot her. The shirt, which had the "Complete Auto Body & Fender" logo of Buttafuoco's auto body shop in Baldwin, Nassau County, was a gift from Joey Buttafuoco to Fisher. Joey Buttafuoco named Fisher as the shooter.

Aftermath

Joey Buttafuoco pled guilty to one count of statutory rape and served four months in jail.[2] Mary Jo and her husband later moved to Southern California, where she even[3]tually filed divorce papers in Ventura County Superior Court on February 3, 2003.[4]

In 2006, Mary Jo underwent a facial reanimation procedure with facial plastic surgeon Babak Azizzadeh, involving static facial suspension, face lift, and eye lift procedures. These surgeries restored balance and gave her back her ability to smile. Next was surgery to widen the ear canal, which improved her hearing and prevented future infections. She also underwent physical therapy to strengthen her facial muscles, which she explained in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[5]

Book

Sixteen years after the incident Buttafuoco wrote a book telling her story, Getting It Through My Thick Skull: Why I Stayed, What I Learned, and What Millions of People Involved with Sociopaths Need to Know. She was inspired to write the book after her son referred to her ex-husband as a sociopath. Not knowing what the word meant she looked it up and had a realization leading to her coming public with her story.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Milton, Pat (April 15, 1993). "Rape Charges Denied at Buttafuoco Hearing". The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Joey Buttafuoco – Celebrity Mug Shot". Charles Montaldo. Retrieved July 24, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Ultimate Betrayals". Oprah.com. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Joey Buttafuoco, wife getting divorce". AP. May 6, 2003. Retrieved July 24, 2006.
  5. ↑ http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Ultimate-Betrayals
  6. ↑ "Mary Jo Buttafuoco official website".

External links