1. Richard Kuklinski
“THE ICEMAN”
Zach Smith pd. 5

2. BACKGROUND Grew up in New Jersey to abusive parents
Alcoholic father beat him heavily; mother beat him with household objects
-one brother died from injuries due to father’s abuse
Strict Catholic upbringing which he rejected
NY Times reported he killed cats growing up
Committed first murder at 14; beat local bully and gang leader with steel clothing rod and unintentionally killed him
By early twenties he achieved reputation as an explosive, tough street hustler who beat and/or killed those who offended him or who he simply did not like
Led to his association with Gambino Crime Family

3. CRIMES CRIME DATE VICTIM Shot repeatedly January 31, 1980
George Malliband, 42
Shot w/ shotgun
March 14, 1980
Peter Calabro,
Shot in the head
July 1981
Louis Masgay, 50
Shot, then bludgeoned w/ tire iron
April 29, 1982
Paul Hoffman, 51
Kuklinski has also claimed to have killed over 200 people in total, however the credibility of his claim is unknown.

4. THE ICEMAN IS CAUGHT
An undercover policeman, Dominick Polifrone, posed as a client wanted Kuklinski to do a murder for him; he agrees and provides a plan
- He supplied Kuklinski with fake cyanide for the planned murder
Upon reaching the destination for the murder, Kuklinski tested the cyanide on a stray dog, then realizing it wasn’t really cyanide
Kuklinski went home immediately and in about 2 hours he was arrested
- a gun was found in his car and his wife was also arrested for attempting to block her husband’s arrest
Case against Kuklinski was entirely based upon Polifrone’s testimony in coordination with a case building in the New Jersey State Police for 6 years
Charged with five counts of murder, six weapons' violations, an attempted murder, robbery and attempted robbery
Kuklinski was found guilty of five murders in all in March 1988, and was awarded consecutive life sentences for them

5. QUOTE
“By now you know what I like most was the hunt, the challenge of what the thing was. The killing for me was secondary. I got no rise as such out of it…for the most part. But the figuring it out, the challenge-the stalking and doing it right, successfully-that excited me.” -Richard Kuklinski

6. Why “The Iceman”?
Used the technique of freezing the dead bodies to make it difficult for the authorities to establish the time of death precisely
Many techniques used were shooting, stabbing, bludgeoning, dismemberment, chainsaws, fire, cyanide
One of the more gruesome ones was leaving the victim severely injured in a rat infested area to be eaten alive

7. Cultural References
Michael Shannon plays Kuklinski in the 2012 film The Iceman based on Anthony Bruno's book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer
Chicago death metal band, Macabre's song "The Iceman" from their album Murder Metal is about Kuklinski, and gives details of his methods of murder
The Iceman Confesses: Secrets of a Mafia Hitman and The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer are two documentaries that feature the Mafia hitman Richard Kuklinski. They were produced by HBO and released in 1992 and 2001, respectively

8. The Iceman(2013)

9. SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY Richard faced an abusive family life
His parents beat him and his siblings vigorously
Older sibling died from injuries suffered from father
Lived in a delinquent and aggressive community
Grew up surrounded by crime
Parents influence was too strong, too aggressive
Weakened and severed bonds with parents
Ironically forced into strict Catholic religion which he learned to despise; severing spiritual ties
Sense of right and wrong was altered severely
Emotional connections and responses faded away
Richard learned how to cope with everyday struggles through the violent nature of his parents responses
Parents failed to establish important values and morals within Richard- had they he would have had a much lower chance of becoming the vicious killer he became