Richard "The Iceman Kuklinski" led a double life beyond anything ever seen on The Sopranos, or any mafia movie, becoming one of the most notorious professional assassins in American history while hosting neighborhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey (Carlo, 2007). Richard Kuklinski was born on April 11, 1935, in Jersey City. Born into a very strong Catholic environment, he attended Catholic grammar school and was an altar boy. He wound up dropping out of school in the eighth grade. At a young age he was already showing warning signs of the homicidal triad by torturing and killing animals. He killed neighborhood cats as a youth and said he committed his first murder at 14, after which, he said, he felt "empowered" (Carlo, 2007). Also having been abused and neglected by both of his parents at a very young age helped mold him as a killer.
Richard killed in different ways. He was an expert in using cyanide (the same chemical used in gas chambers) to poison people. He would get it in liquid form and put it in their drink or merely spill it on them in a bar like he lost his balance, where it would go through their sweat pores and go into their bloodstream, eventually killing them. His methods of disposing of bodies consisted of putting them in cars that were crushed, sides of roads, park benches, steel drums, and bodies of water. He got the nick name the Iceman because he would freeze bodies to hide the time of death. He had one body frozen for up to 2 years.
By the 1970s, Richard had become very wealthy from being a hitman. He lived in an expensive middle-class home in a good neighborhood with his wife and children. He charged at least $50,000 per hit and told his family and neighbors that he was a businessman. His wife never questioned his behavior, even though he left at odd hours and didn't say much about his work. He claimed to have killed over 200 people.
Richard Kuklinski fit the characteristics of a serial killer indeed. He just fell into a profession where he could show his talent and make some money. Although he had the title of a hitman, he showed and acted out serial killer traits and tendencies. The feeling of excitement he got when he strangled a man over his back like he was hanging him. He said he felt him die and it was a good feeling (Iceman Tapes). Gave him a sense of control and power. In the mafia profession it was a way of life, you live and you die. Richard had the upper hand in that mafia life style. He wasn't making deals, didn't organize jobs, didn't rob or steal he just killed for money. If it was your time, it was your time!
Richard Kuklinski died of unknown cause in Trenton, New Jersey at the age of 70. Although authorities say they believe he died of natural causes, the timing of his death is considered suspicious by some, as he was scheduled to testify that he had killed a New Jersey police officer in the 1980s on the orders of former Gambino crime family underboss Sammy Gravano. A few days after Kuklinksi's death, prosecutors dropped all charges against Gravano, saying that without the hit man's testimony they had insufficient evidence to continue. Story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/nyregion/09kuklinski.html