Set on Long Island, this biographical crime drama traces a high-profile sequence of events surrounding a lavishly publicized crime and the people it pulls into its orbit. The story opens with Joey Buttafuoco [Jack Scalia], a married auto-shop proprietor, drumming at home as he wrestles with a heavy cocaine relapse, fleeing from the police, and visiting his mother’s grave. At the house, his wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco [Phyllis Lyons], waits with a mix of concern and frustration—she makes it clear that she won’t tolerate another relapse. After a tense confrontation, Joey chooses to enter rehab, and six weeks later returns clean, telling Mary Jo he has become the man she fell in love with.
Fast forward three years to the summer of 1991, when Joey is working at an auto repair shop and meets a 17-year-old named Amy Fisher [Alyssa Milano]. Amy repeatedly shows up with car troubles and asks Joey to fix her car without telling her parents, all while she testifies to a troublesome, adventurous past that belies her age. Initially hesitant, Joey does not rebuff her advances outright; he is careful, offering attention yet avoiding a full embrace, even as Amy’s persistence grows. On a carnival evening with her friend Lizzy [Georgia Emelin], Amy seizes a kiss from Joey, startling him, and afterward tells Lizzy that she has been seeing him for a while. The next day, Joey learns that Amy’s father, Elliot Fisher [Jack Kehler], has filed a police report after Amy claims Joey gave her herpes, though Amy soon admits she lied. Joey is furious but keeps the information from Mary Jo, fearing it would fracture their marriage.
In a cafe, Joey tries to make it clear he has no plans to abandon his family, even as Amy presses her claim by showing off a shirt from his shop and implying a closer connection. Amy’s obsession deepens, and she hires a quasi hitman, offering him money and the chance to sleep with her, though the man eventually backs out. Six months later, Amy returns with another claim, trying to convince Mary Jo that Joey is having an affair with her “16-year-old sister.” When Mary Jo refuses to believe her, Amy pulls a gun and shoots Mary Jo in the head. At the hospital, the reality sinks in: Mary Jo’s condition is precarious, and she may never walk again if she survives. Amy, meanwhile, seeks solace with her boyfriend Paul Makely [Michael Bowen], who is involved with another woman, adding a further layer of complexity to the maelstrom.
Back at the hospital, Mary Jo reveals to Joey and the detectives that the attacker wore a repair-shop shirt, leading Joey to suspect Amy’s involvement. Following Amy’s arrest, she claims that she and Joey had conspired to kill Mary Jo so they could be together, a statement Joey hotly denies. The media amplifies the scandal, painting Joey as an adulterer and conspirator, which makes Mary Jo question the solidity of the marriage even as she clings to her husband.
Despite warnings not to engage with the media, Joey steps forward with a formal statement after a sex-tape involving Amy and an older man becomes public. The tape fuels sensational headlines and adds pressure to a case already overshadowed by rumor and tragedy. While Amy is imprisoned, she continues to write letters to Joey from prison, maintaining a narrative of love and loyalty that contrasts with the mounting evidence against her.
As the courtroom drama unfolds, Amy’s bail—set at an astonishing $2 million, the highest in New York state history—becomes a public symbol of the case’s reach and cost. The Buttafuoco family faces the peril of losing their auto shop as prosecutors pursue charges of statutory rape, complicating an already fragile family dynamic. In a bid to protect the family business, Amy’s legal team negotiates a plea that would spare the shop from destruction, even as Mary Jo resists any deal that looks like exoneration of Joey. A televised tape later emerges in which Amy brags about her plea and urges Paul to marry her, a development that allows the Buttafuocos to begin clearing their name, even as Amy faces a prison term.
Ultimately, the combination of the court proceedings, media scrutiny, and public sensationalism culminates in Amy receiving a sentence of up to 15 years for reckless assault, while Joey’s role remains a point of intense debate. The case captures a community’s fascination with a lurid crime, the collapse of a marriage under public gaze, and the ways in which truth, betrayal, and reputation collide in the glare of the courtroom and the screens of a media-driven era.
