William I. Aronwald, the son of the slain Parking Violations Bureau hearing officer, George M. Aronwald, earned a reputation as an aggressive prosecutor and a successful defense lawyer. Both careers enveloped the son in stormy controversies over the last 20 years.

As a state and Federal prosecutor in Manhattan in the 1970's, William Aronwald specialized in organized-crime cases and twice convicted one of the Mafia's top bosses in New York City, Aniello Dellacroce.

Because of his investigations of Mr. Dellacroce, Mr. Aronwald was called as a prosecution witness in the recent racketeering trial of John Gotti to testify about the code of silence in the Gambino crime family. Mr. Gotti, who the authorities say now heads the Gambino group, was acquitted on March 13 of charges that he ran ''a crew'' for Mr. Dellacroce before he died in 1985.

The police said yesterday that were considering the possibility that George Aronwald may have been killed to avenge some cases his son had handled as a prosecutor or defense lawyer. Client in Corruption Scandal
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As a defense lawyer, Mr. Aronwald now represents a swindler who was instrumental in exposing the corruption scandal at the city Parking Violations Bureau, the same agency where his father worked part-time for the last decade.

The elder Mr. Aronwald, who was 78 year old, was shot to death Friday in a laundry near his home in Long Island City, Queens. Police officials said yesterday that they had uncovered no link between the murder and the racketeering convictions last year of officials and businessmen for rigging contracts to collect overdue parking fines.

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The officials also said there was no evidence that the father was murdered because of his son's background as a prosecutor or defense lawyer.

The younger Aronwald, who is 46, began his law career as an assistant District Attorney in Manhattan in 1967. Four years later, he joined one of the Justice Department's elite units, the Joint Strike Force against Organized Crime in Manhattan. In what was probably his most important courtroom victory, he won a tax-evasion conviction and prison sentence in 1973 of Mr. Dellacroce, who law-enforcement officials said was the underboss or No. 2 leader of the Gambino crime family until his death in 1985.

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Earlier, as an assistant District Attorney, Mr. Aronwald convicted Mr. Dellacroce of contempt for disobeying a court order to testify before a state grand jury that was looking into mob rackets. It was those investigations that led to his being called to testify at the trial of Mr. Gotti. Undercover Operations
In 1975, Mr. Aronwald was promoted to the head the strike force in Manhattan and the Southern District of the state. However, one of his primary undercover operations - a joint investigation with a special Police Department unit - of mob extortions and political corruption in the garment center, ended abruptly with few major convictions. The inquiry led to charges and countercharges of incompetence and coverups and a Senate subcommittee inquiry into what had gone wrong.

There were no findings of wrongdoing against Mr. Aronwald. But the Strike Force in the Southern District was dissolved in 1977 and he became chief of the Criminal Division for the office of the United States Attorney in the Eastern District, a post he held until 1978 when he went into private practice.

For the last three years, Mr. Aronwald has been representing Michael Burnett, a convicted swindler, who provided Federal authorities with the first evidence in 1985 of widespread corruption at the Parking Violations Bureau.

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Mr. Burnett did undercover work for Federal authorities in Manhattan and one of his tapes was used as evidence in the trial and conviction last year of the former Bronx Democratic leader Stanley M. Friedman. However, Mr. Aronwald refused to permit Mr. Burnett to continue working for the United States Attorney in Manhattan, Rudolph W. Giuliani, after a dispute over possible leniency and help for Mr. Burnett in his own criminal cases.

Mr. Burnett was indicted last year on a state murder charge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.