Luca Brasi

Luca Balou Brasi
Luca Brasi, as portrayed by Lenny Montana in The Godfather.
First appearance	The Godfather
Last appearance	The Godfather: The Game
Created by	Mario Puzo
Portrayed by	Lenny Montana
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Gangster
Title	Soldato, enforcer
Relatives	Kelly O'Rourke (lover, murder victim) O'Rourke child (biological child, murder victim)

Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and ex-bodyguard for the Colombo crime family.

Luca Brasi is Mafia boss Vito Corleone's personal enforcer. Brasi has a reputation as a savage killer, making him one of the most feared and dangerous criminals in the American Mafia. Vito is the only person who can control Brasi, but he also fears him and becomes nervous whenever they meet.

Brasi can perform any job or murder without accomplices that could implicate him. He also eliminates witnesses, making a criminal conviction nearly impossible. In one two-week killing spree, he murders six men who attempted to assassinate Don Corleone. Only Vito, recuperating from the attack, could call him off. These six deaths end the famous "Olive Oil War." Brasi's fanatical loyalty to Don Corleone is unquestioned, and he is said to have killed a Corleone soldier merely for making the Corleone family look bad. Brasi often claims he would sooner kill himself than betray the Godfather.

Another early incident involved Brasi killing two of Al Capone's henchmen who were hired to murder Don Corleone. Brasi subdues both men, binding and then gagging them with towels. As Brasi hacks up one with an ax, the other man, terrified, chokes to death on the towel.

Later in the novel, Vito's youngest son, Michael Corleone, learns that years earlier Brasi murdered an Irish prostitute hours after she bore his child. He then forced the midwife, under pain of death, to hurl the live infant into a burning furnace. The distraught woman, who described Brasi as an unholy demon, sought Vito's protection. Don Corleone intervened, covering up Brasi's crime and earning Brasi's undying service and loyalty.

Brasi is surprised and grateful to be invited to Vito Corleone's daughter's wedding. To show proper respect, Brasi personally presents the Don a large cash gift for his daughter, Connie's, bridal purse, purportedly the largest sum given. During the reception, Michael's girlfriend, Kay Adams, notices Brasi and asks Michael about him. He tells her how his father once helped his godson Johnny Fontane's career with Brasi's assistance. Don Corleone had offered bandleader Les Halley $10,000 to release Fontane from a personal service contract that unfairly exploited Fontane's rising fame. When Halley refused, Don Corleone returned the next day with Luca Brasi to make Halley an "offer he couldn't refuse." Within an hour Halley signed a release for only $1,000. As Brasi held a gun to Halley's head, Don Corleone assured him that either his signature or his brains would be on the contract. In the novel the circumstances and tendered amount differs somewhat. Accompanied by Brasi, Vito Corleone held Halley at gunpoint after initially offering the bandleader $20,000. The Don then paid $10,000 after forcing Halley to sign the release.