He tortured and killed neighborhood cats and stray dogs. [51] Bruno noted that in 1986 Anthony Indelicato was convicted of Galante's murder and Kuklinski was not mentioned during the trial. [16][17] When asked about his brother's crimes, Kuklinski replied: "We come from the same father. Serial Killer Richard Kuklinski Over the years Richard mastered his skills when it came to killing. Deppner was also strangled. [6] Anna was a zealous Catholic and believed that stern discipline should be accompanied by a strict religious upbringing. Along the way, he becomes a famous sports parent and coach to daughters Venus and Serena, and breaks every rule of the tennis establishment to forever change the sport . https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Kuklinksi, Crime Museum - Biography of Richard Kuklinski. You do it nice and calm. Sometimes Mr. Kuklinski -- a 6-foot-5, 300-pound, tattooed, bearded man -- took his public act a step too far and told specious stories, like the dramatic role he claimed in the killing of the Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. [5] At the request of Kuklinski's family, noted forensic pathologist Michael Baden reviewed his autopsy report. Richard Speck. At the age of 13, he beat a local bully to death and disposed of the body in an icy river. amzn_assoc_default_category = "All"; He became known as the Iceman because he sometimes froze corpses to disguise the time of death. Posing as a Mafia-connected criminal named Dominic Provenzano, Polifrone purchased a handgun-muffler combination from Kuklinski. The Iceman. Kuklinski also confessed to killing Hoffman, but prosecutors decided not to go to trial as they had a weak case and additional life sentences would not have impacted Kuklinski's prison stay. [1] After a plea bargain, Kuklinski admitted to shooting Malliband five times, saying, "It was due to business. 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. [63] In February 2003, Kuklinski was charged with Calabro's murder, and received another sentence of thirty years. [2] His body was stored in a freezer, then discovered fifteen months later. He built a file on him. Kuklinski wrapped the corpse inside green garbage bags before dumping it. 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. I know, I know, Richard Kuklinski was a massive bullshiter. Several television producers also spoke to Kuklinski about his criminal career, upbringing, and personal life. He was the second of four children raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. [31] Starting in 1985, Kane and Polifrone worked with Phil Solimene, a close long-time friend of Kuklinski, to get Polifrone close to Kuklinski. Patient identifiers: Age: Richard Kuklinski Gender: Male Ht: Wt. Before meeting Dwayne's mother, Richard had tried marriage before. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He committed at least five murders between 1980 and 1984. A self- Richard Kuklinski. A week before he died, they called her to see if she had changed her mind. [25], According to the testimony of Barbara Deppner, Kuklinski, Daniel Deppner, and House (in jail at the time) decided that Smith had to be killed. In 2003 he also entered a guilty plea for the 1980 murder of New York City police detective Peter Calabro. Prongay had been about to go on trial for blowing up the front door of his ex-wife's house. As a child, he endured an absolute unloving . Merrick later recalled that he once killed her dog right in front of her to punish her for coming home late. Many infamous criminals came into my pieces of writing, those actually ranging from Al Capone to someone very different such as Jeffrey Dahmer. A week before his death, the hospital called Barbara to ask if she wished to rescind the instruction, but she declined. [28], The medical examiner found Deppner's stomach full of undigested food, indicating that he had died shortly after (or during) a meal. Although both of Richard's parents were abusive, Stanley was the worst of the parents. I never heard his name mentioned once. Kuklinski fed Smith a hamburger laced with cyanide, but when this was slow to work, Daniel Deppner also strangled Smith with a lamp cord. | A former mobster's POV, "Gravano: Heading to Trial for Allegedly Ordering Cop Killed", "Hit Man Implicates Hit Man In '80 Slaying, Authorities Say", "Self-styled 'Ice Man' was Jimmy Hoffa's killer -- or colossal liar", "Date me or I'll kill your mother -- Ex-wife of notorious 'Ice Man' talks about years with mob killer", New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety - Division of Criminal Justice 1987 Annual Report, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Kuklinski&oldid=1137986953, 5 (2 sons from first marriage; 2 daughters and 1 son from second marriage), Stanley Kuklinski (born Stanisaw Kukliski) and Anna McNally Kuklinski, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 12:08. He tested Polifrone's (purported) cyanide on a stray dog, using a hamburger as bait, and saw it was not poison. [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. [5][43] He alleged he used multiple ways to kill people, including a crossbow, icepicks, a bomb attached to remote controlled toy, firearms, grenades, as well as cyanide solution spray he considered to be his favorite. It was a veiled threat and that was the last idea Malliband . One day, Albert Parenti, another made man in the mob and a friend of Carmine Genovese, approached Richard. He started young, killing cats and other animals for the fun of it and to feel "empowered". Richard said that his mom broke a broomstick on him many times. Listen above to the History Uncovered podcast, episode 43: Richard Kuklinski, The Iceman, also available on Apple and Spotify. 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. [32][37] After the arrest, Kuklinski told reporters This is unwarranted, unnecessary. [52] Kuklinski biographer Philip Carlo also acknowledged that Kuklinski's claim to have been involved in Galante's murder was untrue. [6][7], After his murder convictions, Kuklinski gave interviews to writers, prosecutors, criminologists, and psychiatrists. FlickrRichard Kuklinski frequently disposed of bodies in oil drums. Claimed to have been recruited by Sammy the Bull to kill Castellano bodyguard. He cut the tendons of Malliband's leg in order to fit the corpse into the barrel. The medical examiner found ice crystals in the bodys tissues and determined that it had been kept frozen; this led to Kuklinski being called The Iceman. Malliband and Masgay had been shot to death. The second, Louis Masgay, also sought a videotape deal. A jury found elusive contract killer Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski guilty of murder in March 1988 and sentenced him to consecutive life terms. Ill go as high as 15, maybe. Kuklinski wasnt a professional killer at the time only a recreational one. Richard kuklinski is a prime example of just that. Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski killed by shooting, stabbing, choking, hanging (using his own body as the "tree"), and poison. I was just a murderer.. [44], However, Kuklinski's alleged involvement in mafia hits has been disputed by other authorities. Richard Leonard Kuklinski ( / kklnski /; April 11, 1935 - March 5, 2006), also known as The Iceman, was an American criminal and convicted murderer. He was 70. Kuklinski was set to testify against him. 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. While working for a trucking company, he met Barbara Pedrici,[70] a secretary at the same firm. Malliband's brother told police officers that Malliband was meeting Kuklinski the day he disappeared. It wasnt too nice.. Joseph Michael Kuklinski (May 5, 1944 - September 22, 2003) was a criminal convicted of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl. One of his criminal enterprises was the bootlegging of pornographic films, and it was through this activity that he became connected with organized crime. [6][26] Finally, on December 27, 1982, after more complaints from guests about the smell, the motel manager investigated and discovered the decomposing corpse. The defence theorized Deppner was responsible for the murder of Smith, and there was no cause of death determined for Deppner. amzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = "Richard Kuklinski"; His favorite method of killing, which he would later boast about was a nasal-spray bottle filled with cyanide. He was charged with five murders the following day and in 1988 was found guilty of four of them. He claimed to have murdered anywhere from 100 to 200 men, often in gruesome fashion. [1], Kuklinski came to the attention of Pat Kane, an officer with the New Jersey State Police, when an informant helped Kane connect him to a gang carrying out burglaries in northern New Jersey. [40][22] Kuklinski was ineligible for parole until 2046, when he would have been 111 years old. [66], Michael Shannon played Kuklinski in the 2012 film The Iceman loosely based on Anthony Bruno's book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer. If Richard suddenly left the house in the middle of the night, Barbara would never ask where he was going. Barbara described him as a "wholesale distributor" and said he employed an accountant. Born in 1935 to an alcoholic, abusive railroad brakeman and a fanatically Catholic mother who also administered beatings freely, Richard Leonard Kuklinski dropped out of the eighth grade to become a full-time hoodlum, stealing cars and robbing houses in Jersey City and Hoboken. But was the Iceman killer an inveterate liar or one of the worst mass murderers in history? 7 Pages. These interviews resulted in three television documentariesThe Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer (1992), The Iceman Confesses: Secrets of a Mafia Hitman (2001), and The Iceman and the Psychiatrist (2003)and two biographies, The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer (1993) by Anthony Bruno and The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer (2006) by Philip Carlo. Check Writing Quality. Richard Kuklinski was a family manhusband to Barbara and father to two daughters and one son. . He approached his new position with professional zeal, taking on extracurricular killings for research and to satisfy his own craving for murder. [19] Malliband's body was discovered a week later, on February 5, 1980. However, given his volatility, she never expressed these worries to him,[72] instead maintaining a "don't ask questions" philosophy when it came to his business life or associates. Richard Kuklinski Research Papers 1278 Words | 6 Pages. Pat Bauer graduated from Ripon College in 1977 with a double major in Spanish and Theatre. Kuklinski exhibited psychopathic traits in his behavior, perspectives, and . There is some debate regarding whether or not Kuklinski should be considered a hit man or serial killer. On one occasion, Richard Kuklinski recalled preparing to kill a man who was begging and praying for his life. [65][66] The charges against Gravano were dropped after Kuklinski's death in 2006. Brunos book and the first documentary were the basis for the 2012 motion picture The Iceman. He added it was best to dump the body to avoid trouble with the police, then forget about the incident. When I tried to leave everybody alone and just do my own thing, everybody just wanted to hurt me. But on her way out, Barbara signed a Do-Not-Resuscitate form. [55] Ultimately, no charges were brought against Kuklinski for the Prongay murder. He longed to translate his love of killing into a living, he said, but Mafia kingpins, suspicious of his zeal, first limited him to lesser crimes. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; [13] However, he later claimed he killed Hoffa. At the time, his murder was thought by law enforcement officials to be revenge either carried out or arranged by his deceased wife's relatives. I Forge forward without my Family. He smiled at the notion that the last thing these people saw was his face. He used everything from ice picks and bare knuckles to hand grenades. They welcomed two sons into this world Richard Jr. and David before things between them seemingly spiraled out of control, leading to divorce. [1] Medical examiners listed Deppner's cause of death as "undetermined," although they noted pinkish spots on his skin, a possible sign of cyanide poisoning. When I was a young man, I found out that if you hurt somebody bad enough, they'll leave you alone. [2][32] Kuklinski was held on a $2million bail bond, and made to surrender his passport. [15], Kuklinski had three siblings. "[31], Kuklinski also alleged he was a Mafia contract killer independently working for all the Five Families of New York City, as well as the DeCavalcante family of New Jersey. [14] Anna Kuklinski reportedly was also often abusive. The pair had three children together, and to their suburban New Jersey neighbors, they were the ideal all-American family. [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. Richard Kuklinski was a prolific hitman, who was given the nickname 'The Iceman,' because of his unique method of freezing his victims' corpses. While Panzram killed at least five people, he claimed to have committed much more throughout his extensive criminal career. Born in New Jersey in 1935, Kuklinski had a troubled childhood and was known for his violent outbursts and lack of empathy. While in prison, Kuklinski gave numerous interviews to psychiatrists, criminologists, journalists, and writers, telling the story of his life and providing detailed descriptions of how and why he committed dozens of murders. They lived an affluent life. "[72] "Good Richie" was a hard-working provider and an affectionate father and loving husband, who enjoyed time with his family. He had married a woman named Linda, who was nine years older than him. It was from Prongay that Kuklinski said he learned to freeze bodies to mask time of death. [76] The film was directed by Ariel Vromen and also stars Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Stephen Dorff, and Chris Evans. [30] The discovery Kuklinski froze Masgay's corpse encouraged law enforcement officers to nick-name him "Iceman. Richard Kuklinskis arrest appears in the papers on Dec. 18, 1986. But how to prove it? In a TV interview from prison, he said, Ive never felt sorry for anything Ive done. If anyone can offer proof that he did or didn't work for the mob that'd be great, don't . However, in 2013, the Philadelphia Inquirer noted the caves have had a lot of visitors since Kuklinski's time, and no human remains have been discovered. Kuklinski told the man he could have 30 minutes to pray to God to see if God would come and intervene. amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "search"; He regarded his mother as a "cancer" who destroyed everything she touched. Kuklinski's first murder At age 13 Kuklinski beat his bully, Charley Lane, to death with a wooden dowel. Back to Organized Crime Richard Kuklinski, otherwise known as "Iceman," is considered one of the most unique serial killers in American history today. [22], However, Kuklinski did not thaw the corpse before he dumped it. Get inside the mind of a violent psychopath in a novel described by serving British detective Scott M as the 'best book' he'd read as it helped him understand his 'clients' better! Three documentaries, the last featuring interviews of Kuklinski by forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz, aired on HBO in 1992, 2001 and 2003 . Richard Kuklinski, also known as "The Iceman" for hiding a dead body for two years in order to confuse the time of death, was a serial criminal and murderer in the 1980s. Soon after Richard Leonard Kuklinski moved out of his mother's home to start a new life for himself, he tied the knot with his then-girlfriend Linda, a woman nine years his senior. [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. NY Daily News Archive / Getty ImagesRichard Kuklinskis arrest appears in the papers on Dec. 18, 1986. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Polifrone came to Kuklinski with a job, then recorded Kuklinskis promise to murder in exchange for money. Kuklinski had placed it in a 55-gallon drum and left it near the Chemitex chemical plant in Jersey City. Also claimed to have carried out the hits on Carmine Galante and, most notably Paul Castellano. He enjoyed summer barbecues by the pool and volunteered as an usher at mass every Sunday. When the police finally caught up with him, Barbara had no idea what her husband had done to break the law. Kuklinski was engaged in criminal activities for most of his adult life; he ran a burglary ring and distributed pirated pornography. He was later convicted of two more and given consecutive life sentences. Richard Leonard Kuklinski was born on April 11, 1935 to Stanley and Anna Kuklinski. Richard Kuklinski was born April 11, 1939, in Jersey City. Richard Kuklinski died on March 5, 2006 at the age of 70. Richard's mother would also abuse him. Do you liken yourself to an assassin? an interviewer once asked The Iceman Richard Kuklinski. During these periods, he was physically abusive to his wife (one time breaking her nose and giving her a black eye) and emotionally abusive towards his children. 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