Louis Attanasio

{{Short description|American mobster (born 1944)}}

{{Infobox criminal

| name =Louis Attanasio

| image_name =

| image_size = 200px

| image_caption = Attanasio's FBI mugshot

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|06|22}}

| birth_place = White Plains, New York, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| cause =

| alias ="Louie HaHa"

| occupation = Mobster

| allegiance = Bonanno crime family

| conviction = Tax evasion and bribery (1985)
Racketeering, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, loan sharking (2006)

| conviction_penalty = Five years' imprisonment (1985)
15 years' imprisonment (2006)

}}

Louis "Louie HaHa" Attanasio Jr. (born June 22, 1944) is an American mobster and reputed captain in the Bonanno crime family.[http://www.nj.com/sopranos/ledger/index.ssf?/sopranos/stories/mafiosi_20040122sl_drum.html "3 charged in case of dead man in a drum."] The Star-Ledger. January 22, 2004. He is the brother of Bonanno mobster Robert Attanasio. Attanasio earned the nickname "HaHa" because he laughed whenever he killed a man.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCMosWa6XRgC&q=Louis+Attanasio&pg=PA256 |title=King of the Godfathers: "Big Joey ... - Google Books |date= 2008-05-27|access-date=2010-05-07|isbn=978-0-8065-2874-8|last1=Destefano |first1=Anthony M. |publisher=Kensington Publishing Corp. }}

Attanasio was married twice, marrying young and divorcing his first wife in 1992. In 2003, he divorced his second wife Erica, who allegedly suffered from a bipolar disorder. In the divorce settlement, Erica allegedly received $200,000 over a span of five years.

In April 1984, Attanasio participated in the murder of Bonanno soldier Cesare Bonventre. Bonanno leaders Philip Rastelli and Joseph Massino had ordered Bonventre's murder because they felt he was a threat to their power. On the day of the murder, Attanasio and Bonanno mobster Salvatore Vitale picked up Bonventre to bring him to a meeting with Rastelli. As Vitale drove into a garage, Attanasio shot Bonventre twice in the head. Surprisingly, Bonventre still struggled, forcing the two hitmen to stop the car. Bonventre crawled out of the car onto the concrete before Attanasio finished him off with two more shots. Bonventre's body was hacked to pieces and dumped into three 55-gallon glue drums in a Garfield, New Jersey warehouse. After the body was recovered, it took forensic technicians three months to identify it.{{cite web|url=http://jrrusso.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html |title=Mobster: February 2009 |publisher=Jrrusso.blogspot.com |date= |access-date=2010-05-07}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/sopranos/ledger/index.ssf?/sopranos/ledger/index.ssf?/sopranos/stories/mafiosi_20040122sl_drum.html |title=3 charged in case of dead man in a drum |publisher=Nj.com |date= |access-date=2010-05-07}}

During the 1980s, Attanasio was convicted of tax evasion and of trying to bribe a state trooper. He received five years in prison.{{cite web|url=http://www.mafianj.com/sci89/bonanno.shtml |title=The Mafia in New Jersey - La Cosa Nostra - State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation 1989 Report - The Bonanno/Rastelli/Vitale Family |publisher=Mafianj.com |date= |access-date=2010-05-07}}

In June 1996, Attanasio was indicted on racketeering and loansharking charges. He reportedly ran his loansharking operation in the 1980s while in federal prison on his tax evasion conviction.{{cite web|last=Rashbaum |first=William K. |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1996/06/23/1996-06-23_it_s_no_joke__he_s_busted_as.html |title=It'S No Joke, He'S Busted As Mobster |publisher=Nydailynews.com |date=1996-06-23 |access-date=2010-05-07}} In 1997, after a 23-year romance, Attanasio married his second wife, Erica, in a prison wedding ceremony{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/08/11/2007-08-11_jokes_on_mob_wife.html |title=Joke's on mob wife |publisher=Nydailynews.com |date=2007-08-11 |access-date=2010-05-07}}

In January 2004, Attanasio was indicted in New York on charges of murder, conspiracy to murder and loansharking. To avoid prosecution, he and Erica fled to Sint Maarten, where he maintained a residence. In December 2004, Attansio was arrested by members of the Sint Maarten Police Force after they received a tip that he was residing on the island. He was later extradited to the United States to face charges, including the 1984 Bonventre murder.O'Donnell, Michelle. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE0D61739F933A05751C1A9629C8B63 "New York: Mob Figure Caught In Caribbean."] New York Times. December 30, 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2004/12/30/2004-12-30_long_arm_of_law_nabs_bonanno.html |title=Long Arm Of Law Nabs Bonanno Wiseguy |publisher=Nydailynews.com |date=2004-12-30 |access-date=2010-05-07}}

On September 20, 2006, Attanasio was sentenced to 15 years in prison as part of his plea agreement for the 1984 Bonventre murder.{{cite web|last=Marzulli |first=John |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/2006/09/21/2006-09-21_15-yr__sentences_for_1984_ru.html |title=15-YR. SENTENCES FOR 1984 RUBOUT. TWO WHACK-O BONANNO NAMES ARE KOD |publisher=Nydailynews.com |date=2006-09-21 |access-date=2010-05-07}} As of April 2014, he was serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Elkton, a low security unit in Elkton, Ohio. His projected release date was January 23, 2018, but he was released on May 2, 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Louis&Middle=&LastName=Attanasio&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=56&y=10 |title=Federal Bureau of Prisons |publisher=Bop.gov |date= |access-date=2010-05-07}}