Mr. Kuklinski promoted his own notoriety by appearing in two HBO documentaries as well as meeting with writers, psychiatrists and criminologists. He didnt tell the criminals he worked with anything about his personal life, his family, or where he lived; he never socialized outside of work. Whilst in prison, he granted interviews with writers, psychiatrists and criminologists, he lapped it up, enthusiastically and excitedly telling all those that spoke to him that he had killed up to 200 men. Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division Bergen County. Whilst working in a New Jersey loading dock, he met his future wife Barbara, he was however already married and had two boys, but he was persistent. In time, it brought him to the attention of the Gambino crime family, of which DeMeo was a member. He was the brother of the notorious contract killer, Richard Kuklinski. Gravano, serving a twenty-year sentence in Arizona for drugs, was also indicted for the murder. Kuklinski claimed he killed Gambino Crime family member Roy DeMeo in an interview for the 1993 book "The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer" by Anthony Bruno. A jury found elusive contract killer Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski guilty of murder in March 1988 and sentenced him to consecutive life terms. Investigators guessed that Deppner had already been incapacitated, such as by poison, because the partially-eaten corpse had no defensive wounds and healthy adult men are rarely killed by strangulation. In later interviews he claimed to have killed increasing numbers of victims, many of them members of organized crime, but investigators largely regarded the assertions as dubious. [64][63] Gravano denied any involvement in Calabro's death and rejected a plea bargain, under which, he would receive no additional jail time if he confessed to the crime and informed on all his accomplices. It was from Prongay that Kuklinski said he learned to freeze bodies to mask time of death. Public DomainThough Richard Kuklinski successfully lived as a seemingly normal family man for decades, his true identity as the Iceman killer was finally revealed in the 1980s. The investigation into his burglary gang linked Richard Kuklinski to the five murders he was the last one to see each victim alive leading officials to execute an 18-month long undercover operation. Copyright The National Crime Syndicate 2014 - 2023. Prongay had been about to go on trial for blowing up the front door of his ex-wife's house. Kuklinski was particularly clever when it came to avoiding the authorities. Robbery was not considered a motive at the time. But how to prove it? [38] In March 1988, jurors found Kuklinski guilty of murdering Smith and Deppner, but found the deaths were not proven to be by Kuklinski's conduct, meaning he would not face the death penalty. While working for a trucking company, he met Barbara Pedrici,[70] a secretary at the same firm. In 2003, his guilty plea in the 1980 slaying of Peter Calabro, a New York City police detective, added a meaningless 30 years: he was already ineligible for parole until the age of 110. Richard Kuklinski, better known as "The Iceman," was convicted of murdering six people, but he claimed to have killed hundreds. [57][58] Kuklinski is not mentioned in Capeci and Gene Mustain's book about the DeMeo crew, Murder Machine, or Albert DeMeo's account of his father's life in the mob, For the Sins of My Father. She would beat Richard with broom handles (sometimes breaking the handle on his body during the assaults) and other household objects. [1] Several of his known murder victims were men he met through trafficking pornography and drugs. Anyone can read what you share. Kuklinski had placed it in a 55-gallon drum and left it near the Chemitex chemical plant in Jersey City. He opined Kuklinski made the confession to "add extra value to his brand",[51] and so, he omitted the story from his biography of Kuklinski. I have had a few days to think, I tried to contact my brother. The pair had three children together, and to their suburban New Jersey neighbors, they were the ideal all-American family. Richard, therefore, was raised in the Roman Catholic Church and served as an altar boy. [42], In the last installment, The Iceman and the Psychiatrist, Kuklinski was interviewed by renowned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz in 2002. [5] He said he committed his first murder at 14, and murdered homeless people for practice. He was later convicted of two more and given consecutive life sentences. Sometimes hed throw them in the Hudson River or dispose of them in mine shafts. Richard Kuklinski. When I tried to leave everybody alone and just do my own thing, everybody just wanted to hurt me. His favorite trick was leaving his victims bodies in industrial freezers, then dumping them months or years later. The Rockland County medical examiner found ice crystals inside the body on a warm September day. The children attended expensive private schools, and the family hosted barbecues in their backyard by the pool and took trips to Disneyland over the holidays. She spent most of the next 42 years working as a copy editor and editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. [56] Kuklinski says that Prongay taught him to use cyanide and other methods to kill, and it was Prongay who told him to freeze the body of Masgay. He would stab, shoot, poison, bludgeon and would evade law enforcment by freezing his victims to conceal their time of death. Kuklinski continued to carry out assignments for DeMeo and the Gambinos, and his willingness to murder without hesitation disturbed even his criminal colleagues, who began to refer to him as the devil himself.. If you enjoyed this story about Richard Kuklinski, the Iceman killer, be sure to read about the real-life mobsters behind Goodfellas. He always left bruises. Kuklinski murdered an unknown number of people throughout his life. Deppner was also strangled. Mr. Kuklinski disclosed the killing of Detective Calabro on the second HBO documentary on his life, in 2001. Kuklinski was an usher every Sunday at Mass. [44], However, Kuklinski's alleged involvement in mafia hits has been disputed by other authorities. Law enforcement and organized crime experts have expressed skepticism about Kuklinski's claimed Mafia ties. Joseph Kuklinski was in prison from October 22, 1971 until his death on September 22, 2003. A decade after HBO last visited him in prison, the convicted murderer, who freely admits having whacked more than 100 people in cold blood, takes viewers back inside his cold, calculating mind. [62], The Bergen County prosecutor believed Kuklinski's confession to be a fabrication, but his successor decided to proceed with the case. After his arrest, Kuklinski wasnt shy. [28], The medical examiner found Deppner's stomach full of undigested food, indicating that he had died shortly after (or during) a meal. Calabro was rumored to have mob connections and was investigated for selling confidential information to the Gambino family. It wasnt too nice. [65][66] The charges against Gravano were dropped after Kuklinski's death in 2006. 1741 Words. "[68] Former FBI Special Agent Robert Garrity stated Kuklinski's admission to killing Hoffa was "a hoax," and that Kuklinski was never a suspect in Hoffa's disappearance, adding "I never heard of him. Then check out these photos that capture life in the 1980s mafia. amzn_assoc_default_category = "All"; Richard Leonard Kuklinski was born on April 11, 1935 to Stanley and Anna Kuklinski. Born Richard Leonard Kuklinski in Jersey City, NJ, he started murdering in 1948 at age 13 and didn't stop until he was arrested in 1986. Richard Kuklinski, 70, a Killer of Many People and Many Ways, Dies By Douglas Martin March 9, 2006 Richard Kuklinski, whose lust for publicity nearly matched the blood lust he displayed. He was renowned for his brutal killings of over 100 people. Buccino added: "We didn't believe a lot of things he said. Hayley is a freelance Journalist who has an interested in writing about notorious Serial Killers to one time hit murderers. amzn_assoc_rows = "1"; He was born 11th of April 1935 in the Polish section of New Jersey, born to a devout Catholic mother and an abusive violent alcoholic of a father, who beat Kuklinski regularly. Come on." The body was never found., Kuklinski suffered a rough upbringing which held a key component of creating his criminal behavior. Kuklinski took the violence he received and gave it back to the world. However, the ligature mark around Smith's neck, and the fact that the body had been deliberately hidden, proved to investigators that he was murdered. He was transferred to a secure wing at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. (Please note: For some informations, we can only point to external links) Richard Kuklinski was a notorious serial killer, self-proclaiming that he killed anywhere between 100-200 people. Because of his sheer number of kills, as well as his approach to killing, many believe he should be considered a . amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "naticrimsynd-20"; Stanley was an abusive alcoholic while Anna was an abusive, devout Catholic. Kuklinski was eventually convicted of two murders in 1988, and six in total, but it is estimated that he killed as many as 250 people, mostly . After his capture and imprisonment, he was interviewed and assessed by a psychiatrist. [15], Kuklinski had three siblings. His methods were as variable as his victim selection; he shot, stabbed, strangled, poisoned, or bludgeoned according to his mood. But was the Iceman killer an inveterate liar or one of the worst mass murderers in history? [4] He stated that he lured Hoffman into a rented garage and tried to shoot him, but the gun jammed. Eventually, he was hired as a hit man, carrying out assignments from several crime families, including the Genovese, Gambino, and DeCavalcante organizations. He was given the moniker Iceman by authorities after they discovered that he had frozen the body of one of his victims in an attempt to disguise the time of death. I don't believe he killed a hundred people. [27] Investigators deduced he was murdered in Patterson's apartment after discovering a bloody carpet. He enjoyed summer barbecues by the pool and volunteered as an usher at mass every Sunday. Death of New Orleans 1st Godfather (Pt 1), Death of New Orleans 1st Godfather (Pt 2), Dial M For Mob Series: Part 1 Introduction, Dial M For Mob: Part 2 Where It All Began, Dial M For Mob Series: Part 3 Las Vegas, Dial M For Mob: Part 4 The Shooting of Frank Costello, 9 New York Mafia Social Clubs: Then & Now, 9 Restaurants Where Mobsters Were Whacked, 10 Celebs Who Nearly Got Killed By The Mafia, Carabinieri Italys Incorruptible Police Force, The Theft of The Marlborough Diamond Chapter 2, 5 Real-Life Murders, Which Became Popular Worldwide, Top 5 Books about The Mafia, for Students, Louis Campagna: Died On This Day in 1955, Aged 54, Will The New Scarface Movie Be A Success? amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; He was the second of four children to Anna and Stanley Kuklinski. I never heard his name mentioned once. [citation needed], On September 25, 1983, the body of Louis Masgay was discovered near a town park near Clausland Mountain Road in Orangetown, New York, with a bullet hole in the back of his head. Suspicious, Kuklinski decided not to go through with the planned murder and went home instead. Richard Kuklinski was a Mafia contract killer who worked for all five New York crime families, and the two New Jersey mob families, becoming one of their premiere killers. [69], Kuklinski's first wife, Linda, was nine years his senior. His parents, Stanley and Anna Kuklinski, were not the loving, caring parents most children grow up with. He said he was one of the murderers of Bonanno family boss Carmine Galante in July 1979,[44] and Gambino family boss Paul Castellano in December 1985. Listen above to the History Uncovered podcast, episode 43: Richard Kuklinski, The Iceman, also available on Apple and Spotify. Kuklinski told the man he could have 30 minutes to pray to God to see if God would come and intervene. Patient identifiers: Age: Richard Kuklinski Gender: Male Ht: Wt. [39] He was then sentenced to a minimum 60 years in prison. Retired special agent Dominick Polifrone helped nab the murderer in a joint operation by the New Jersey Attorney General's office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.He spent 18 months in guise as Dominick Provenzano, a drug-dealing . [23], By the early 1980s, Kuklinski's burglary gang was under investigation by law enforcement. While Panzram killed at least five people, he claimed to have committed much more throughout his extensive criminal career. Also claimed to have carried out the hits on Carmine Galante and, most notably Paul Castellano. Book published a month after former NB resident Kuklinski's death gives account", The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-blooded Killer, Was "The Iceman" based on a true story? He was photographed and fingerprinted, but the charges were dropped after he agreed to pay back the money owed. After 25 years of working as a hitman, Kuklinki started his own crime business. [71] Barbara described his behavior as alternating between "good Richie" and "bad Richie. (2,232) 6.8 1 h 45 min 2013 X-Ray R. The true story of notorious mob hitman Richard Kuklinski, who killed more than 100 people. Richard Kuklinski was a master at compartmentalization: To his neighbors in middle-class Dumont, he was a successful businessman, with a wife and three kids. Updates? [2][32] Kuklinski was held on a $2million bail bond, and made to surrender his passport. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Bruno book quoted her as disclosing that Mr. Kuklinski tried to smother her with a pillow, pointed a gun at her, tried to run her over with a car and three times hit her so hard that he broke her nose. 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