Bruce Cucchiara was a grandfather, father, and husband.

He loved sports, particularly baseball, and dedicated his free time to coaching baseball and basketball in his local community.

Bruce graduated from St. Paul's School in 1972 but was an active member of the alumni association. He received his undergraduate degree from Southeastern Louisiana University. Christmas was his favorite holiday. He started his career in finance. He was the first President of Resource Bank, based in St. Tammany Parish as well as the chief financial officer of SECO, a real estate development company. Bruce had recently remarried around the time of his death.

The day of the murder.

The morning of April 24, 2012, Bruce Cucchiara started as a typical day. Bruce received an incoming call regarding an investment property in Lafayette, Louisiana. The two had met the day before and was inquiring about an update, the call lasted approximately 4 minutes. Bruce arrived at his office at 8 a.m. he replied to an email his son sent him by 8:09 a.m.

By 9:10 AM there was another brief call, lasting only two minutes. By 9:32 AM, there is another outgoing call to a business associate. Since the call lasted less then a minute, it’s believed that JB did not answer. However, the calls were pinged off of a tower suggesting that Bruce was likely en route to the apartment complex.

At 9:53 AM, Bruce made a call to Glen Angus, an associate. The call lasted for 12 minutes. It is believed that during this time, Bruce was already at the Mark VII apartment complex. He tried calling Glen back, but he did not pick up. Bruce was on his way to look at an investment property, however, the address he was given was incorrect. Bruce went to speak to the apartment building manager in attempt to get some clarity on the address he was provided. However, nobody knew that Bruce was going to this apartment complex.

At 10:14 AM, while Bruce was walking back to his truck, Bruce was shot by a revolver. No casings would be found at the scene and there was no security footage obtained. Minutes later, an officer responded to the Mark VII apartment complex parking lot.

What happened later.

It was discovered that Bruce’s phone and wallet were stolen. Approximately an hour and a half later, there was an email notification requesting a new password that somebody had tried to get into Bruce’s Apple ID account. It remains unknown who or why someone was trying to get into the account. Bruce’s phone was eventually recovered a few months after his murder. According to a Brainscratch video with John Lordan, it took at least a month for police to retrieve the phone.

Two days later, a suspect sketch was released to the public. The suspect was described as being in his mid-20s, between 5 feet, 9 inches, and 6 feet tall, and with a slim build. He is clean-shaven, has a "possibly light brown complexion," and was wearing a black knit cap, a thick black jacket with a hood underneath, black pants and black shoes.

Where the case stands today. Interestingly, there were a total of five insurance policies taken out on Bruce dating back to 2007, totaling $5 million. There were three one million dollar policies and then one two million dollar policy taken out.

The case remains unsolved.

The family is still actively seeking justice for Bruce. In 2021, the New Orleans Police Department made it known to the public that they wanted to speak with Richard Chambers and Joyce Whitfield. Police believe they may have information that would be helpful to the investigation. In 2023, season 5 of Counter Clock podcast covered Bruce’s case.

If you have witnessed or have information concerning this crime, you must email JusticeForBruce@gmail.com DIRECTLY and SUBMIT AN ANONYMOUS TIP or call to Detective Aucoin (504) 658-5300 to qualify for the reward.