Richard Kuklinski American criminal, hitman in the service of the mafia Date of Birth: 11.04.1935 Country: USA

1. Biography of Richard Kuklinski
2. Connection to the Gambino Crime Family
3. The Method of Operation
4. Involvement with the DeMeo Crew
5. The Family and Capture
6. Capture and Death

Biography of Richard Kuklinski

Richard 'The Iceman' Kuklinski (11.04.1935–5.03.2006) was an American criminal and a hired assassin for the mafia. He worked with several Italian-American crime families and is believed to have killed over two hundred people during his thirty-year career. Kuklinski committed his first murder at the age of thirteen. He was the older brother of Joseph Kuklinski, a convicted rapist and murderer.

Connection to the Gambino Crime Family

Rumors of Richard's association with the Gambino crime family emerged due to his connection with the gangster Roy DeMeo. They met when Richard owed a significant amount of money to one of DeMeo's friends, and DeMeo decided to have a conversation with him. After Richard was released from the hospital following this "conversation" and settled his debts, he became involved in robberies and various other tasks assigned to him by the clans. At one point, the 'Iceman' was involved in video piracy in the pornography market.

During one of their trips, DeMeo stopped the car by the roadside, pointed out a random pedestrian to Richard, and ordered him to kill the person. Without questioning the order, Richard shot the unfortunate pedestrian in the head. From that moment on, Roy considered him one of his best hitmen. According to his own accounts, Richard killed many people over the next thirty years using firearms, strangulation, knives, and poison. The exact number of his victims has never been established, as he mentioned different figures at different times, ranging from one hundred to one hundred thirty.

The Method of Operation

Richard's preferred method of killing was using cyanide, as it was quick and did not leave traces for toxicological analysis. He administered it either through injections, food, aerosol spray, or direct contact with the victim's skin. He preferred disposing of bodies using fifty-five-gallon oil drums, but he also resorted to other methods such as dismemberment, burial, or dumping them in the trunk of a broken-down car in a local landfill. He claimed to have sometimes left bodies sitting on benches, dumped them in "bottomless pits," or fed them to giant Pennsylvania rats.

Involvement with the DeMeo Crew

Although Kuklinski claimed to be one of the main killers for DeMeo, none of the gang members later confirmed Richard's involvement in the gang's murders. The only evidence suggesting his connection to the DeMeo crew is a photograph of Kuklinski in the 'Gemini Lounge' club, where it is believed he purchased weapons for the gang. Richard also claimed that he was the one who killed DeMeo himself, but all known evidence and testimonies point to DeMeo's henchmen - Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter - and his direct supervisor in the Gambino family, Anthony Gaggi.

The Family and Capture

According to Richard, during his criminal career, he got married to Barbara Pedrici, and they had two daughters and a son. His family was unaware of his criminal activities, believing he was just a very lucky businessman. His work sometimes required him to leave abruptly at any time of the day or night, which he explained as demands of the business.

After conducting experiments on the decomposition of bodies at low temperatures in an industrial refrigerator belonging to one of the Gambino establishments, Richard earned the nickname 'The Iceman.' He claimed that the idea was suggested to him by his colleague Robert 'Mr. Softee' Pronge, who used an ice cream truck to lull his victims' vigilance. Pronge also taught him how to use cyanide and sold him hand grenades. Upon Robert's request, Kuklinski even carried out an order to kill Pronge's wife and child.

Capture and Death

Eventually, in 1986, Kuklinski was caught by the authorities, based on the testimony of an undercover agent embedded in the gang. New Jersey police had been monitoring him for six years and eventually conducted a complex operation to apprehend him, involving an FBI informant. During the arrest, Richard's wife was also taken into custody, and the police officers had to use force to restrain his anger towards them.

While in prison, Kuklinski willingly gave interviews and spoke with psychiatrists, revealing many horrific stories from his career. In 2006, Phillip Carlo published a whole book about him. Richard died in prison, and it was believed that he would provide important testimony about one of his former gang members, leading many to suspect foul play in his death. However, the medical examiner found no traces of poison in his body.