Vincent Potenza is largely known as a Lucchese family soldier who was involved with thefts of blank money orders and travelers checks. Noteworthy among his crimes is a 1959 heist in which an American Express office was robbed at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. A former Private First Class in the U.S. Army, he was discharged from military service in 1946. Between 1945 and 1959 Potenza accumulated a lengthy arrest record. Among his noteworthy crimes include burglaries, stolen securities and grand larceny. Following the April 1959 arrest in San Francisco, Potenza and his associate, Michael Zaffarano, were charged with theft of $2,000 in stolen money orders.