The Iceman

"The Iceman" is the nickname of Richard Leonard Kuklinski, an infamous killer with ties to organized crime syndicates in the New York City area. Kuklinski died in prison in 2006.

Fast Facts:

1. Real name: Richard Kuklinski
2. Born: April 11, 1935
3. Birthplace: Jersey City, New Jersey
4. Spouse: Barbara Kuklinski
5. Children: 5
6. Sentenced: Life in prison
7. Died: March 5, 2006
8. Claimed to have murdered over 100 people¹
9. Older brother of rapist/murderer Joseph Kuklinski
10. Favorite method of murder: Cyanide spray¹

Life of Crime

After being convicted of two murders in 1988, Kuklinski spent the rest of his life in prison, but gave frequent interviews. In the interviews, which included two HBO documentaries, Kuklinski claimed to have killed over 100 people. According to Kuklinski, he killed his first victim at the age of 14. He began working for the Gambino crime family in the early 1960s after meeting Roy DeMeo, an infamous figure in the family. Kuklinski originally began pirating pornographic videos for the family, but soon moved into killing. Kuklinski claimed to have murdered not only mob associates the family commanded him to murder, but innocent people as well.¹

Death

In 2006, Kuklinski was scheduled to testify against Sammy Gravano in relation to the murder of New York City Police Detective Peter Calabro in 1980. However, he died before the was able to testify. ¹

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