In short, Richard Kuklinksi may have been one of the greatest enigmas ever. His family never knew of the nights he would meander into Manhattan's Upper West Side and brutally kill whatever panhandler stepped in his path. On the day Richard was arrested, the police found not one single weapon in the house. But despite even his worst moments at home, his family never knew of his other life as a top hitman contracted by the bosses of east coast crime families. At times he was a model father that would return home with a car full of groceries and presents, and at other times he was a monster, frequently subjecting Barbara to abuse and leaving their children to watch in horror. As described by his wife Barbara, Richard was two people. He led a double life: professional assassin and devoted family man. the wife of one victim referred to him as 'the devil.' Yet behind every monster, even the most cold-blooded ones, there lies a human story.Īfter 240 hours of face-to-face interviews with Richard Kuklinksi and even more time spent with Kuklinski's family, Philip Carlo reveals all in The Ice Man. Responsible for well over 200 murders, he is the man who claims a direct link to the killing of Jimmy Hoffa and he is one of the reasons for John Gotti's rise to power. the wife of one victim referred to him as 'the devil.' Yet behind every monster, even the most cold-blooded o Richard Kuklinski, aka 'the Ice Man,' will go down as one of the most vicious killers in history.

Kuklinski earned the moniker 'The Iceman' for freezing many of his victims to obfuscate their time of death.Richard Kuklinski, aka 'the Ice Man,' will go down as one of the most vicious killers in history. Kuklinski learned many of these tactics from fellow hitman Robert Pronge, known as 'Mister Softee' because he drove an ice cream truck as his cover. His resume for killing included guns, ice picks, hand grenades, crossbows and chainsaws, but his favorite method of murder, he'd later proudly confess, was a nasal-spray bottle filled with cyanide. He also worked for Newark's DeCavalcante crime family and the Gambinos of New York City.Īt a towering 6'5', weighing an eventual 300 pounds, Kuklinski had an imposing and fearsome bearing. He soon became the Genovese crime family's indispensable hitman, known for thoroughly disposing of his victims - removing their teeth and fingers, or dumping them off bridges, in rivers or down mine shafts. He earned Mafia respect at age 18 by efficiently and unquestioningly killing a random man selected for him on the sidewalk. Kuklinski's criminal activities included robbery, hijackings and selling pornographic films, but murder was his forte.

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