Richard Kuklinski – Confessions Of A Mafia Hitman

Who is Richard Kuklinski?

Richard Kuklinski is a former mafia hitman from New Jersey with a criminal career expanding over multiple decades. His primary business was contract killing. Richard is one of the most dangerous criminal ever known. He murdered using a wide range of weapons including guns, knives, strangulation, poison and even torture. When asked how many people he has murdered he answered “approximately more than 100”. Other sources have said that the number reaches 200. He earned the nickname “The Iceman” after his method of freezing victims to hide the time of death. Other nicknames given by members of the mob are “the one-man army” or “the devil himself”. These nicknames were earned by his horrifying reputation and physique of 6’5” and almost 300 pounds. 

Criminal Career Success And Downfall

So how did he get away with this for so many years? His criminal career success comes from having the ability to have an isolated double life. His family was completely unaware of his contract killings and connections to the mafia. They thought he was a “businessman” all along. Richard was also involved in arms dealing, money laundering,narcotics and hijacking. He had strong ties to the DeCavalcante and Gambino crime families. With so many criminal activities going on Richard Kuklinski started to make mistakes. A couple of bodies were discovered who had a direct trace back to him. One particular body was discovered in the middle of a New York park in September. The medical examiner found ice inside the body since Richard did not allow for the body to fully thawed before dumping it.

The New Jersey Criminal Justice Department put the pieces together and created a task force to bring him down. After years of investigation he was finally caught by an undercover federal agent who pretended to need a contract killer for hire. He was charged with 5 counts of murder along with other charges earning him two life sentences. In 2005 after 25 years in prison he was diagnosed with an incurable inflammation of the blood vessels and was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in New Jersey. Richard had asked doctors to revive him if he flat lined but his wife signed paperwork not to resuscitate him. Richard Kuklinski died at age 70 on March 5, 2006.

HBO Interviews

In 1991 Richard Kuklinski decided to interview with HBO just after five years of receiving consecutive life sentences. He interviewed for three documentaries released in 1992, 2001 and 2003. The last one with famous forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz. He describes his killings and crimes in graphic details without any type of regret. His only signs of emotions come when describing the deception of his family. Take a look at the two part full documentary:

Part 1

https://youtu.be/jjTYwZKuyBs

 Part 2