Vincent "Big Vinnie" Teresa was the #3 man in the New England Mafia until 1969. When the Mafia failed to protect him and his family, he turned government informant. In 1973 a Miami jury acquitted gangster Meyer Lansky despite evidence offered in court by Teresa. Vincent Teresa was closely associated with senior New England mob boss Raymond Patriarca. As early as 1958 he was involved in loan sharking. Specifically, he and a number of co-defendants had loaned money to race track bettors at extortionate rates. Eventually Teresa was instrumental in government prosecutions of high-ranking mobsters.