Vincent Teresa
Encyclopedia
Vincent "Fat Vinnie" Teresa (1930 – 1990) was an American
mobster
in the Boston
branch of the Patriarca crime family
who was a lieutenant of boss Raymond Patriarca
.
After he entered witness protection, Teresa wrote three books: the 1973 My Life In The Mafia, co-authored with Newsday
writer Thomas C. Renner, which documented his Cosa Nostra career and the 1960s Boston Irish Mob Wars
; the 1975 Vinnie Teresa's Mafia, also co-authored with Thomas C. Renner, which documented his life during his time in the Federal Witness Protection Program and beyond; and the 1978 fictional novel Wiseguys, solely written by Teresa.
My Life In The Mafia chronicles Teresa's path to a life in organized crime, his time as a lieutenant for
Raymond Patriarca
, his fall in the Patriarca crime family
, and the circumstances that led to him to seek the protection of the Federal government and the Federal Witness Protection Program. Intelligent and personable, Teresa was as good a federal witness as he was a criminal. His testimony put a large number of the Patriarca crime family
in jail. First and foremost, though, one gets the impression that Teresa was always looking out for Teresa.
Vinnie Teresa's Mafia chronicles Teresa's time as a government witness and subsequent life, with a number of anecdotes on his former life in the mob. It is said that Teresa would have been a very sharp and successful businessman even if he never entered a life of crime, and, despite claimed government indifference, he does seem to succeed in making a life for himself and his family once out of witness protection. He was very bitter against the Federal government for his 'treatment' in the Federal Witness Protection Program, feeling they used him with no regard to his safety, or an appreciation of his value. Thomas C. Renner implies this may have been more melodramatics then reality.
Teresa's final book and fictional novel, Wiseguys, was written solely by Teresa and the quality of writing shows it. Teresa largely dictated the first two books to the competent hand of Thomas C. Renner. The story is of one Johnny Forza, a very thinly disguised doppelganger of Teresa. It chronicles Forza's life as a betrayed government witness, his battles with a former friend mob member "Butch" (again, a thinly disguised doppleganger for New Jersey mob member Frank "Butch" Miceli), his life on the lam with his girlfriend and his final confrontations with everyone who has done him wrong. Written poorly in the first person it is more a revenge fantasy than a novel.
One interesting note. Normally, to be come a 'made' member in an Italian mob, one had to first do murder at the direction of the mob. Teresa claimed that while he reached the position of lieutenant in the Patriarca crime family
, this was mainly due to his prowess as a money maker for Raymond Patriarca
, and that he never murdered anyone. This is debatable as 1) as a lieutenant Teresa at the least would have passed down orders for hits; and 2) he was aware if he had committed murder he would gotten a much stiffer jail sentence. Since he claim not, the government had no evidence to the contrary and he was a very valuable witness, he was taken at his word.
Teresa always lived in fear of being murdered by the Patriarca crime family
but seems to have out-lived anyone in that mob that would have cared to kill him. In February 1990, Vincent Teresa died of kidney failure in Seattle, Washington
. In an odd twist of events, Thomas C. Renner died a month earlier in January, 1990.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mobster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
in the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
branch of the Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
who was a lieutenant of boss Raymond Patriarca
Raymond Patriarca
Raymond Patriarca may refer to:*Raymond L.S. Patriarca, Providence mobster and founder of the Patriarca crime family*Raymond Patriarca, Jr., Providence mobster and former leader of the Patriarca crime family...
.
After he entered witness protection, Teresa wrote three books: the 1973 My Life In The Mafia, co-authored with Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
writer Thomas C. Renner, which documented his Cosa Nostra career and the 1960s Boston Irish Mob Wars
Irish Mob
The Irish Mob is one of the oldest organized crime groups in the United States, in existence since the early 19th century. Originating in Irish American street gangs of the 19th century — depicted in Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs of New York — the Irish Mob has appeared in most...
; the 1975 Vinnie Teresa's Mafia, also co-authored with Thomas C. Renner, which documented his life during his time in the Federal Witness Protection Program and beyond; and the 1978 fictional novel Wiseguys, solely written by Teresa.
My Life In The Mafia chronicles Teresa's path to a life in organized crime, his time as a lieutenant for
Raymond Patriarca
Raymond Patriarca
Raymond Patriarca may refer to:*Raymond L.S. Patriarca, Providence mobster and founder of the Patriarca crime family*Raymond Patriarca, Jr., Providence mobster and former leader of the Patriarca crime family...
, his fall in the Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
, and the circumstances that led to him to seek the protection of the Federal government and the Federal Witness Protection Program. Intelligent and personable, Teresa was as good a federal witness as he was a criminal. His testimony put a large number of the Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
in jail. First and foremost, though, one gets the impression that Teresa was always looking out for Teresa.
Vinnie Teresa's Mafia chronicles Teresa's time as a government witness and subsequent life, with a number of anecdotes on his former life in the mob. It is said that Teresa would have been a very sharp and successful businessman even if he never entered a life of crime, and, despite claimed government indifference, he does seem to succeed in making a life for himself and his family once out of witness protection. He was very bitter against the Federal government for his 'treatment' in the Federal Witness Protection Program, feeling they used him with no regard to his safety, or an appreciation of his value. Thomas C. Renner implies this may have been more melodramatics then reality.
Teresa's final book and fictional novel, Wiseguys, was written solely by Teresa and the quality of writing shows it. Teresa largely dictated the first two books to the competent hand of Thomas C. Renner. The story is of one Johnny Forza, a very thinly disguised doppelganger of Teresa. It chronicles Forza's life as a betrayed government witness, his battles with a former friend mob member "Butch" (again, a thinly disguised doppleganger for New Jersey mob member Frank "Butch" Miceli), his life on the lam with his girlfriend and his final confrontations with everyone who has done him wrong. Written poorly in the first person it is more a revenge fantasy than a novel.
One interesting note. Normally, to be come a 'made' member in an Italian mob, one had to first do murder at the direction of the mob. Teresa claimed that while he reached the position of lieutenant in the Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
, this was mainly due to his prowess as a money maker for Raymond Patriarca
Raymond Patriarca
Raymond Patriarca may refer to:*Raymond L.S. Patriarca, Providence mobster and founder of the Patriarca crime family*Raymond Patriarca, Jr., Providence mobster and former leader of the Patriarca crime family...
, and that he never murdered anyone. This is debatable as 1) as a lieutenant Teresa at the least would have passed down orders for hits; and 2) he was aware if he had committed murder he would gotten a much stiffer jail sentence. Since he claim not, the government had no evidence to the contrary and he was a very valuable witness, he was taken at his word.
Teresa always lived in fear of being murdered by the Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
but seems to have out-lived anyone in that mob that would have cared to kill him. In February 1990, Vincent Teresa died of kidney failure in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. In an odd twist of events, Thomas C. Renner died a month earlier in January, 1990.
Further reading
- Clarke, Thurston and Tigue, John J. Jr. Dirty Money: Swiss Banks, the Mafia, Money Laundering, and White Collar Crime. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975. ISBN 0-671-21965-0
- Davis, John H. Mafia Kingfish: Carlos Marcello and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. New York: Signet, 1989. ISBN 0-451-16418-0
- Hinckle, Warren and Turner, William W. The Fish is Red: The Story of the Secret War Against Castro. New York: Harper & Row, 1981. ISBN 0-06-038003-9
- Kwitny, Jonathan. Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace. New York: W.W. Norton, 1979. ISBN 0-393-01188-7
- Lacey, Robert. Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life. London: Century, 1991. ISBN 0-7126-2426-0
- Scheim, David E. Contract on America: The Mafia Murder of President John F. Kennedy. New York: Shapolsky Publishers, 1988. ISBN 0-933503-30-X
- Summers, Anthony. The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon. New York: Viking, 2000. ISBN 0-670-87151-6