Don Philip Tattaglia then arranges a meeting between Brasi and Sollozzo. Sollozzo, not fooled by the ruse, impales Brasi's hand into a table while one of his men strangles Brasi to death with piano wire.
They know his reputation and they fear him, and they know with what they where proposing that Luca would be the tool used by Vito to shut them down. So in order to start moving on the Corleone's they had to get rid of Luca.
Brasi began his life of crime as a teenager when he killed his abusive, alcoholic father and pushed a neighbor off a roof for sleeping with his mother. Brasi's work as a Corleone Family enforcer helps further build his legendary reputation.
At the meeting, Luca meets Virgil Sollozzo who wishes to offer Luca employment. Luca and Sollozzo discuss business while Bruno observed the meeting. Sollozzo, after promising friendship, a job, and $50,000, then rams a knife into Luca's hand, pinning it to the bar as an assassin garrottes him from behind.
This Brasi exhausts himself with perfecting a memorized speech of gratitude, and even gives money afterward for the bridal purse of the Don's daughter. Yes, he kills for Don Corleone, but he also receives an invitation to an exclusive family wedding; we come to know him purely through this bond to Don Corleone.
Don Philip Tattaglia then arranges a meeting between Brasi and Sollozzo. Sollozzo, not fooled by the ruse, impales Brasi's hand into a table while one of his men strangles Brasi to death with piano wire.
In the sequel novel The Godfather's Revenge, Hagen is murdered in 1964 by traitorous Corleone henchman Nick Geraci, who ties him up in a car that he sinks into a swamp.
In the book, we learn that Brasi was a crazed hitman, so hellbent on loyalty that he once killed a man who worked for the Corleone family because he thought he made them look bad. He also took part in the Olive Oil Wars, where he was in the room with six other hitmen and killed all of them in various bloody ways.
Having Paulie brought to the Corleone compound Sonny Corleone deduced that Gatto had sold out his father. Sonny ordered Clemenza to have Gatto killed as soon as possible, saying he did not want to see Gatto again.
Due all the horrendous crimes he has committed, including killing his father and his own son, Luca Brasi is considered one of the most evil and dangerous antagonists of The Godfather franchise, despite his supposed loyalty to Vito Corleone.
Vito Corleone was not afraid of Luca Brasi. Luca Brasi was the Don's enforcer and Brasi was fiercely loyal. That's why Vito's enemies wanted to eliminate Brasi. Off the leash he was a mortal threat to them.
Luca Brasi : Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your daughter... 's wedding... on the day of your daughter's wedding. And I hope their first child be a masculine child. I pledge my ever-ending loyalty.
Two fish wrapped in a bullet-proof vest. No, it's not a delivery intended for the sushi restaurant next door. As Clemenza explains, "It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes." In other words, he's been dumped in the ocean for a deep, deep sleep.
Connie (who was unaware of her husband's role in Sonny's murder), hysterical after Carlo's death, blames Michael, denouncing him in front of his wife, Kay.
Shortly afterwards, on July 29, 1955, Vito dies of a heart attack in his garden while playing with his grandson, Michael's son Anthony. In the novel, his last words are, "Life is so beautiful."
In the first Godfather film, when the message “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes” is sent to the Corleone family by Virgil Solozzo, we are certain that the hitherto “very scary man”, just murdered, shall have an ominous afterlife.
Paulie has seemingly betrayed Vito—and thus the family—by selling him out. In The Godfather, this kind of betrayal is the worst of all sins. We see the matter discussed, in the Corleone family office, just before the viewer spends time in front of Clemenza's cozy abode.
Another popular anecdote floating around for years is that Sirico agreed to do the series as long as Paulie never became a “rat,” aka government informant, as the actor had a criminal past and took the issue seriously. It seems that is most likely accurate, as Schirripa noted that Sirico said, “I'll never play a rat.”
In a fit of pique, Carlo sought revenge by making a deal with the Corleones' rival Emilio Barzini to kill Sonny, which would break the stalemate of the Five Families War and possibly allow the other crime families to negotiate a deal to sell narcotics in Corleone territory.
Clemenza's strongest attribute to the Corleones was his stubborn loyalty, not his intelligence. Thus, regardless of his complaints about Michael, he would never have betrayed the Corleones. Clemenza was known as a superb judge of talent.
He was reluctant to see Luca because, as Tom explained to his wife…”No Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day”. The Don was hesitant because he would have to honor whatever Luca might ask of him and was relived that no request was asked, just a personal 'thank you' for being invited.
1. Don Corleone was inspired by real-life mob boss Frank Costello. Don Vito Corleone has similarities to several real-life mobsters, including Joe Profaci, who used his olive oil distributorship as a front for his illegal activities, and Carlo Gambino, who used a quiet, non-flashy style en route to power.
Michael removes Hagen as consigliere in favor of having Vito fill the position, restricting Hagen to handling the family's legal business in Nevada, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Michael and Vito explain that the Corleones risk inciting a fight with the planned move to Nevada, and they need a "wartime consigliere".
Robert Duvall turned down the $1 million that the studio had offered to re-create his role of Tom Hagen. Duvall did not feel that his proposed salary was commensurate with what Al Pacino and Diane Keaton were getting ($5 million and $1.5 million, respectively). The character was subsequently written out.
Michael arranges to have Roth killed at the airport where he is about to be taken into U.S. federal custody. Minutes after disembarking the plane, he is fatally shot by Michael's caporegime Rocco Lampone, posing as a reporter.