Vincent Charles Teresa was an American mobster in the Boston branch of the Patriarca crime family who claimed to be a top captain for Raymond Patriarca before becoming a protected government witness in 1971.
24 Facts About Vincent Teresa
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Vincent Teresa was the grandson of Sicilian Mafia member Vincenzo Teresa, who moved to the United States in 1895 and became a bootlegger during Prohibition.
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The younger Vincent Teresa's uncle, Dominick "Sandy Mac" Teresa, was a driver for Joseph Lombardo, the underboss of Philippo "Don Pipino" Buccola who arrived from Italy to take the reins of the New England Mafia.
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Vincent Teresa was caught by authorities while robbing a meat market, but did not serve any jail time.
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Vincent Teresa subsequently joined the United States Navy, where he worked as a cook.
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Vincent Teresa earned money by buying up businesses and burning them down for insurance money.
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Vincent Teresa opened a nightclub on Cape Cod to use as a front for his loan sharking and racketeering operations.
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In 1963, Vincent Teresa was detained by police in connection with a one-million-dollar heist of Ming dynasty jade.
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Vincent Teresa later stated that Joseph Barboza committed the murder.
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Vincent Teresa arranged for large groups of wealthy gamblers to be flown to Las Vegas, London and the Caribbean, where they gambled at casinos.
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Vincent Teresa used the junkets to convince patrons to subsidize his illegal money lending, promising them high interest rates.
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Vincent Teresa would take their money and not pay the interest, threatening them if they protested.
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Vincent Teresa rose to become the third-most powerful member of the Patriarca family and earned over $150 million for his Mafia bosses during his criminal career.
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Vincent Teresa was indicted and sentenced to twenty years for conspiracy and transporting stolen securities.
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Vincent Teresa served several months at the Lewisburg penitentiary, where he was housed on a block known as "Mafia Row", along with John Gotti, Jimmy Hoffa and Carmine Galante.
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Vincent Teresa entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program and received a new identity as "Charles Cantino".
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Vincent Teresa ultimately testified before at least 22 grand juries on organized crime activities, resulting in the indictments or convictions of over 50 mobsters, including Meyer Lansky.
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Vincent Teresa testified in front of the US Senate in 1971.
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In January 1978, Vincent Teresa filed a 300-page sworn deposition in Miami claiming to have heard Mafia bosses planning to assassinate Fidel Castro for $4 million on orders from the Central Intelligence Agency in the early 1960s.
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Vincent Teresa's testimony put a large number of the Patriarca crime family in jail.
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Vincent Teresa 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.
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Vincent 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.
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In 1981, Vincent Teresa was investigated in an alleged plot to kill the prosecutors who had convicted his son.
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Vincent Teresa was convicted of drug trafficking in Tacoma, Washington and sentenced to ten years in prison.