Background
According to Martin Richard Kuklinski, also known as Iceman was an American professional murderer who was contracted to kill people. Eventually, Kuklinski was convicted of the five known murders (2006). Richard was given the name Iceman because of his continuous unique method of freezing the people he killed to conceal the real date of the murder. Richard was born on 11 April 1935 to parents Stanley a Polish immigrant and Anna Kuklinski, an Irish immigrant, in New Jersey. Richard Kuklinski was the second born in a family of four children. His father was a brakeman on the railway station; while his mother worked in a meat-processing plant, His father was abusive to his family and kids and ended up killing Richard elder brother Florian in one of his beatings. The father ordered the family to lie about his son's death and claimed that Florian died after falling from the stairs. Coincidentally, Richard's younger brother Joseph was also a murderer who was convicted of raping and killing his neighbor's 12-year-old daughter. Richards mother, on the other hand, used to discipline her children severely to make them follow her Christianity and Catholic beliefs and values. Richard started his killing career as a young boy by killing neighbors' cat. Martin asserts that Richard always felt empowered by each murder (2006). Richards' father neglected his family and at the age of 16. By then Richard had already developed an explosive anger that increased his willingness to kill.
Criminal life
Martin argues that Richards' criminal career started as early as when he was fourteen years when he killed a neighborhood boy, Charley Lane, who used to bully him with a closet clothes-hanging rod (2006). Charley was a leader of a gang group known as Project Boys that always bullied other boys. Richard sought revenge that led him to attack Lane and unfortunately killing him. Kuklinski then removed his teeth and fingertips to prevent the body from being identified and dropped it off the South Jersey Bridge. The body of the teenage boy was never found. Kuklinski searched for all the other boys in the Project Boys crew and severely beat each one of them. According to the statement, Richard made, he could kill anyone who would get him to feel less, and especially the evil and loud-mouthed men who resembled his father because they reminded him of his father.
According to Bruno, Richard body physique favored his killings, since Richard was 5 feet 6 inches tall with a weight of about 300 lb (2013). Richard had worn a reputation of beating and killing people who crossed his path, and that is how he attracted Newark's De Cavalcante crime family who, henceforth hired him to kill on their behalf. Richard was also involved with Roy DeMeo and did robberies and dirty assignments for this family including selling their pornographic materials. The family made him an associate when they realized Kuklinski had a killing talent. It is pertinent to note that, Richard only killed men and never children or women. In one incident, Richard killed an innocent man who was walking with his dog mercilessly in the presence of DeMeo. Bruno notes that Richard killed over 200 people using different methods such as shooting, stabbing, strangulation, or poisoning (2013). However, the exact number of the people he killed has never being substantiated to date. Iceman used cyanide poison to kill people because it was not readily detected in the toxicology tests. He would occasionally inject people with the poison, put it on food, spray it as an aerosol, or administer in on the target's skin. Kuklinski used various methods to dispose of his murders, but his favorite one was placing it on the 55-gallon of an oil drum. Kuklinski also buried his subjects, dismemberment, crushing a body in the truck of a car, or let dead bodies sit on the park benches. It is pertinent to note that Richard purchased his handgun in Gemini Lounge, and usually killed for DeMeo and no other member of Gambino family. Iceman, as he was commonly referred, claimed to have killed Roy DeMeo; although the evidence showed his house associates Joseph Testa, Anthony Gaggi, and Anthony Senter murdered him.
Richard earned his name Iceman, from freezing people he killed to disguise the time of death in the freezer. He learned the skill from Mister Softee, who was another hit man who drove a Mister Softee, deep freezer ice cream van. Robert Pronge, also referred to as Mister Softee, was a trained military demolition technician was a hit man to who taught Richard the various methods of using cyanide to kill people. Richard thought Robert was incredibly crazy, but Robert was eventually shot dead in his truck in 1984. Police believe Richard also killed him because his murderer was never found (Bruno, 2013).
Police Arrest
According to 247 News, Richard got involved in many crimes such as pornography, narcotics, gambling, contract killing among others but none could be traced to him since he ensured he cover his traits well for thirty years (2013). However, in the 1980s, Richard started being reckless and left some evidence on the murder scenes. The few notable pieces of evidence that brought the police and FBI close to him was the death of Gray Smith on December 27, 1983 (Barbara, 2013). Gray was found dead for weeks under a hotel bed in New Jersey. Richard strangled him and used cyanide to conceal evidence. The incident caught the police attention, since; Kuklinski left strangulation marks that linked him to the murder. The body of Louis Masgay found in the park on 25 September 1983, two years after his death was another clue that Richard was the proprietor of the crime (Bruno, 2013). The body of Daniel Deeper was found in bicycle trails where they used to go riding. Other two associates of Richard died two months later, and that is when the police decided to investigate him. However, they did not have substantial evidence to arrest him.
It was not until 1986 that the police arrested Richard, after conducting an undercover research on the murderer. The police detectives hired a secret agent by the names Peter Cane. The investigation involved the collaboration of the New Jersey attorney general office, the state police force, the Bureau Firearms, Alcohol, and Tobacco. In essence, the special agents hired, Dominick Polifroe, who had substantial experience in undercover Mafia cases. Together with Phil Solimene, Richards' close friend, they were able to lure Richard in disclosing his killings.
According to Bruno claimed Dominick pretended to hire Kuklinski for a hit, and there he recorded him as he explained how he would carry out his work (2013). After the statement, police cars and helicopters blocked Richard's street and finally arrested him on December 17, 1986 (Bruno 2013). His wife Barbara was also arrested for gun possessions, since; there was a gun in the car that was registered with her name. Richard Kuklinski was charged with the five counts of murders to which he pleaded guilty and referred to them a mere business misunderstanding. The confessions earned him an incarceration for life in jail in 1988 and only made him eligible for the first parole at the age of 110 (Bruno 2013).
In prison, Richard confessed to having murdered more than 200 hundred men on business terms and a little anger. He was not remorseful for his actions neither did he think about those actions. Richard Kuklinski confessed to killing other prominent people such as Jimmy Hoffa, Paul Hoffman, and police detective Peter Calabro under the orders of the Gambino Family Underboss Sammy Gravano in 2003. Richard finally died in prison at the age of 70 on March 5, 2006 (Martin, 2006).
Family Life
Richard was married twice. He had two boys with the first wife before he married his second wife, Barbara Pedrici. According to 247 News, stated that he bore three children with Barbara, 2 girls and one boy (2013). Richard was a hardworking man who would meet all his family needs. In essence, Richard was an affectionate father and husband who would spend every free minute with his family. However, even in the family, Richard could demonstrate unpredictable rage and violence. Sometimes he could beat his wife and emotionally abuse the kids. Sometimes Richard could disappear for months without returning home to his family. His family and neighbors believed he was a successful businessperson, although the wife would occasionally doubt the enormous amounts of money he could return home with. At home, Richard was unpredictable and would leave at any time for business. Richard was an ordinary man because he was not involved in any other vices such as womanizing, gambling or drugs abuse apart from violent temper, and that is why he could not be linked to killers. Richard used to attend church with his family, and he was an usher at mass. He prepared backyard barbecues and organized Disney World trips.
In conclusion, Richard Kuklinski was an intelligent and cunning killer who was able to build his killing career successfully over the years. Richard childhood was part of the reason that he perpetrated crime. Kuklinski was able to disguise with the environment, and that is why Richard was able to bring up a successful family without the suspicion of the family members or the authorities. Richard killing motives were psychological; to cater for the loss he suffered during childhood. He confessed to feeling empowered and happy over murdering someone.
References
Barbara Kuklinski: Life married to the Iceman killer was no Hollywood movie. (2013). Retrieved April 22, 2016, from http://247news.eu/article.php?id=180629
Bruno, A. (2013). The Iceman: The true story of a cold-blooded killer (Reprint.). New York: Random House Publishing Group.
Martin, D. (2006). Richard 'The Iceman' Kuklinski was convicted of five Retrieved April 22, 2016, from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/richard-the-iceman-kuklinski-was-convicted-of-five-murders-but-admitted-to-over-100/news-story/d8dd1b4345a2dd18ed1b52a47cc94062
