Vincent Teresa

Who was Vincent Teresa?

Vincent "Fat Vinnie" Teresa 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.