I have heard rumor that also.

And not that I have one thread of proof either way, But that claim always struck me funny.

I believe it was around 1968-69 that those events in Amityville took place. And Petey Defeo was in the news a lot in that era. And I feel like some reporter just linked the two up.

DeFeo is a fairly common Italian surname. And my gut tells me its false, and just gained momentum once it was put out there.

Who knows?