Vincent Teresa

Vincent Teresa
Born	Vincent Charles Teresa 1930 Revere, Massachusetts
Died	1990 (aged 59–60) Seattle, Washington
Cause of death	Kidney failure
Other names	Fat Vinnie
Occupation	Mobster, extortionist, racketeer
Known for	Lieutenant of the Patriarca crime family
Spouse(s)	Blanche Bosselman

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.

Teresa was born in Revere, Massachusetts in 1930. He was the grandson of Sicilian Mafia member Vincenti Teresa who moved to the United States in 1895 and became a bootlegger during Prohibition. Vincent Teresa's uncle Dominick "Sandy Mac" Teresa was a bodyguard for Joseph Lombardo, a Mafia underboss.

While he was still in primary school, Vincent Teresa developed a gambling addiction that led him to plan and execute around one dozen burglaries. He was caught by authorities while robbing a meat market, but did not serve any jail time. Due to several incidents of violence against teachers, he was asked to leave school after he completed the ninth grade. He subsequently joined the United States Navy where he worked as a cook. After an altercation with a superior officer, Teresa was court martialed and given a bad conduct discharge in February 1948.

Teresa married his childhood sweetheart Blanche Bosselman in 1949. After his discharge from the military, he worked a series of odd jobs, all which he had to leave after stealing from his employers. During this time, he also partnered with a forger to pass counterfeit checks at different New England banks and embarked on a bank robbing spree.

Using the mob connections of his uncle, Teresa began working for Enrico Tameleo, the underboss of the Patriarca crime family. Teresa earned money by buying up businesses and burning them down for insurance money. He also opened a nightclub on Cape Cod to use as a front for his loan sharking and racketeering operations. In 1963, Teresa was detained by police in connection with a one-million-dollar heist of Ming dynasty jade. He was released due to lack of evidence. During the Irish Mob War, Teresa was once again detained by police, this time on suspicion of murdering Joseph Francione. He later stated that Joseph Barboza committed the murder.

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