Stanley abandoned the family while Richard was still a child, but returned periodically, usually drunk, and his returns were often followed by more beatings for Richard. He was the second of four children.Īccording to Richard Kuklinski, Stanley Kuklinski was a violent alcoholic who beat his children regularly and sometimes beat his wife.

Richard Kuklinski was born in his family's apartment on 4th Street in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Stanisław 'Stanley' Kukliński (1906–1977), a Polish immigrant from Karwacz, Masovian Voivodeship who worked as a brakeman on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, and Anna McNally (1911–1972) from Harsimus, a daughter of Catholic Irish immigrants from Dublin, who worked in a meat-packing plant during Richard's childhood. He was the subject of three HBO documentaries aired in 1992, 20 several biographies, and a 2012 feature film The Iceman, starring Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder. Law enforcement and organized crime experts have expressed skepticism about Kuklinski's supposed Mafia ties. He also alleged that he worked as a hitman for the Mafia, and that he was a participant in several famous Mafia killings, including the disappearance and presumed murder of Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa.

Most of these additional murders have not been corroborated. He claimed to have murdered anywhere from 100 to 200 men, often in gruesome fashion. Īfter his murder convictions, Kuklinski gave interviews to writers, prosecutors, criminologists, and psychiatrists. In 2003, he received an additional 30-year sentence after confessing to the murder of a mob-connected police officer. In 1988, he was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of killing two members of his burglary gang and two other associates. An eighteen-month long undercover operation led to his arrest in December 1986. Įventually, Kuklinski came to the attention of law enforcement when an investigation into his burglary gang linked him to several murders. He was given the moniker Iceman by authorities after they discovered that he had frozen the body of one of his victims in an attempt to disguise the time of death. They stated that they were unaware of his crimes. They knew him as a loving father and husband but one who also had a violent temper. Kuklinski lived with his wife and children in the New Jersey suburb of Dumont. Law enforcement officials described him as someone who killed for profit.

Kuklinski killed several people he lured with offers of a business deal so that he could rob them of their cash. He ran a burglary ring and distributed pirated pornography. Kuklinski was engaged in criminal activities for most of his adult life. Richard Leonard Kuklinski ( / k ʊ ˈ k l ɪ n s k i/ Ap– March 5, 2006) also known as The Iceman, was an American criminal and convicted murderer. 2 sons from first marriage 2 daughters & 1 son from second marriage

Iceman killer wiki