Vincent `Fat Vinnie' Teresa, One-Time Reputed Mafia Boss

Vincent ``Fat Vinnie'' Teresa, 61, reputedly the No. 3 man in the New England Mafia until he became a federal government informer, is dead of kidney failure. He died Feb. 21 in Des Moines.

Teresa, who once lived in the Maple Valley area under the name Charles Cantino, reportedly brought in more than $150 million to crime syndicates.

He was indicted in a huge stock swindle and imprisoned at the Lewisburg, Pa., federal penitentiary. An FBI agent persuaded him to turn state's evidence in the early 1970s, and Teresa's testimony resulted in the indictment or conviction of more than 50 organized-crime bosses, including Meyer Lansky, the Mafia's biggest moneymaker.

Teresa, who was given the Cantino identity after testifying against the others, later wrote a book titled ``My Life in the Mafia.''

In December 1984, Teresa, as Cantino, was indicted on charges of smuggling rare birds into the country. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle and was sentenced to two years in prison. His son, David, an Arizona resident, was put on probation for three years and fined $1,000 for his part in the family smuggling ring.