Vincent (Jimmy Jones) Potenza – A Master Mafia Thief

A biography on Lucchese Family soldier Vincent (Jimmy Jones) Potenza.

Vincent (Jimmy Jones) Potenza was born in 1926 in the “Little Italy” section of Lower Manhattan. He lived at 379 and later 362 Broome Street. He was a lifelong resident of the Mulberry Street area .

He was identified by the late 1950s, as a “button man” in the Lucchese Family. Potenza was also identified by Joe Valachi in his 1963 Senate Hearings testimony as a Lucchese member.

FBI # 436241, NYCPD # B-231821, SFPD # 156133

His activities included burglary, high-end thefts and heists, fencing stolen goods, securities theft, hijacking, auto theft, credit cards rackets (counterfeiting and theft,) and strong-arm.

Vincent (Jimmy Jones) Potenza

Jimmy Jones Potenza - A Top Burglar

Although he was little known to the general public, “Jimmy Jones” Potenza was very well-known as a “top” burglar and thief in the underworld.

Unique in that he never engaged in the typical mob rackets of gambling, shylock, and narcotics, etc., but instead, as is clearly evidenced by his police record, “specialized” in being a “trickster” or burglar and heist man.

His longtime criminal associates included:

• Michael (Mickey Z) Zaffarano - A boyhood friend and future Bonanno capo. • Joseph (Jojo) Vitacco - Colombo soldier and close buddy. • Salvatore DiPietro - A top heist guy (Genovese connected) and boyhood friend. • Maurice Savino - A nephew of Joe Colombo. • Americo Spagnuolo - A lifelong sidekick. • Gerald Purazzo • Anthony Bonacci - Future mob member. • Vincent Caputo • Joseph Melita - A Corona, Queens hood.

His long criminal record started in 1945 and included:

• burglary (four times) • possession burglar tools (three times) • vagrancy (twice) • felonious assault (with a chair) • interstate transportation of stolen property (Amex traveler's checks) • conspiracy (twice) • grand larceny (truck) • grand larceny (auto) • felonious assault (with a baseball bat) • felonious assault (fists and feet) • fugitive from justice • forgery and possession of stolen credit cards • grand larceny and conspiracy • counterfeit credit cards

Almost all arrests are either theft or assault-related.

American Express - Don't Leave Home Without It

In 1953, he was indicted for the theft of stolen securities (checks). In 1955, he served 30 days in the workhouse for an assault. In 1956, he and “Jojo” Vitacco, were charged with a vicious beating they gave a guy in Little Italy.

In 1959, he was one of four hoods nabbed by the FBI and indicted (including Michael Zaffarano and Anthony Bonacci) for the armed robbery and kidnapping of a JFK employee in the theft of 93,000 in American Express Traveler's checks for which he was later convicted and received five years.

He served this sentence at San Pedro Federal Correctional Facility in California and Lewisburg in Pennyslvania.

In 1967, he was again indicted by the FBI for preying on JFK Airport. This time as the “kingpin” among 25 people arrested for a massive theft of $407,000 of American Express traveler's checks . (Savino and Spagnuolo were among those arrested.)

Potenza would sell the “blanks” to members of several mob Families (Lucchese and Colombo) for 25% of their face value. And in turn, other mob figures would sell them at 50% of value to “pushers” who would cash them in at full face value.

These securities were cashed in Las Vegas, California, and Puerto Rico, among many other cities.

Side Note: John Panarello was shot to death during the probe. It was alleged he had turned informant. He was found in a ditch in Monticello, NY.

From American Express to Credit Cards

By at least the late 1960s or early 1970s “Jimmy Jones” had switched his focus to the credit card industry. He became a top man in the credit card rackets, both in their theft and also counterfeiting them. He specialized in Visa and MasterCard counterfeiting.

He obtained a “credit card” processing machine allowing him to print and laminate his own cards. He then supplied “passers” with fake driver's licenses and backup identification and sent them out to “bust out” the phony cards at retail stores, restaurants, and electronics shops, etc., buying high-end goods he would later fence.

Another ploy was working in tandem with corrupt business owners (restaurants, nightclubs, etc.) who would write up fake invoices and split the cash generated from these “sales” with Potenza and company.

In 1985, he was nabbed with several others in a huge credit card fraud case. They were convicted after a trial, and Potenza was sentenced to 7.5-years in federal prison.

Side Note: Jimmy Jones could be found daily, for years, at the corner of Broome and Mulberry Streets, holding “court.” He was a fixture of the neighborhood.

He exposed himself to indictment by demanding that all his “salesmen” provide him with the bundle of receipts from their sales so he wouldn’t be cheated. This request helped nab him because they would put a brown paper bag of receipts in a Mulberry Street trash bin. He was observed by Secret Service Agents retrieving the bags to inspect them.

Vincent (Jimmy Jones) Potenza was one of the most notorious and sophisticated burglars that operated within the New York underworld for decades.

He simply loved what he did! And what he did was scheme and scam every waking moment of his life! Whether it was a high-end burglary, truck hijacking, armed robbery, or credit card schemes, Jimmy was absolutely “in his element” while robbing somebody - and never happier!

Vincent “Jimmy Jones” Potenza is believed to have died in 1995.

Vincent (Jimmy Jones) Potenza – A Master Mafia Thief

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Vincent (Jimmy Jones) Potenza – A Master Mafia Thief

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You May Also Enjoy

John McCarthy – “The Labor Consultant”

Gaetano (Tommy Dio) Dioguardi – “His Brother’s Keeper”

Calogero (Charlie) Rao – “Major Loanshark”

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