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Where was Richard Kuklinski born?
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 second of four children.
How many counts of murder did Richard Kuklinski have?
Murder (5 counts) Penalty. 2 consecutive life sentences. Richard Leonard Kuklinski ( / kʊˈklɪnski /; April 11, 1935 – March 5, 2006) also known as The Iceman, was an American criminal and murderer. Kuklinski was engaged in criminal activities for most of his adult life. He ran a burglary ring and distributed pirated pornography.
What happened to Kuklinski after he was convicted of killing Masgay and Malliband?
After the trial, Kuklinski pled guilty to killing Masgay and Malliband. Kuklinski was sentenced to an additional two life sentences to be served consecutively. State prosecutors explained he would spend the rest of his life in prison if he had successful appeals to his previous convictions. Kuklinski also confessed to killing Hoffman, but prosecutors decided to not pursue sentencing, claiming additional life sentences would not impact Kuklinski's prison stay. As part of the plea bargains, the firearm charge against his wife and an unrelated marijuana possession charge against his son were dismissed. Kuklinski was ineligible for parole until he was 111 years old. He was incarcerated at Trenton State Prison.
What happened to Kuklinski and Polifrone?
On December 17, 1986, Kuklinski met Polifrone to get cyanide for a planned murder, which was to be an attempt on an undercover police officer. After the recorded conversation with Polifrone, Kuklinski went for a walk. He tested Polifrone's (purported) cyanide on a stray dog, using a hamburger as bait, and saw it was not poison. Suspicious, Kuklinski decided to not go through with the planned murder, and went home instead. He was arrested at a roadblock two hours later. His wife was charged with disorderly conduct while interfering with his arrest. Officers discovered a firearm in the vehicle, and she was charged with possession of a firearm because she was a passenger.
How many siblings did Kuklinski have?
Kuklinski had three siblings. Kuklinski's father reportedly abandoned the family when Kuklinski was only a young boy. Kuklinski's brother Joseph (1944–2003), who in 1970 was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl and murdering her by throwing her off the top of a five-story building (along with her pet dog).
How did Pat Kane get involved with Kuklinski?
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. He built a file on him. Eventually, five unsolved homicides—Hoffman, Smith, Deppner, Masgay, and Malliband—were linked to Kuklinski because he was the last person to see each of them alive. A joint task force of law enforcement officials titled "Operation Iceman" was created between the New Jersey Attorney General 's office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms dedicated to arresting and convicting Kuklinski. The ATF was involved due to Kuklinski's firearm sales.
What was the charge against Kuklinski?
Prosecutors charged Kuklinski with five murder counts and six weapons violations, as well as attempted murder, robbery, and attempted robbery. Law enforcement officials said Kuklinski had large sums of money in Swiss bank accounts and a reservation on a flight to that country. Kuklinski was held on a $2 million bail bond, and made to surrender his passport. After the arrest, Kuklinski told reporters ″This is unwarranted, unnecessary. These guys watch too many movies.″ At a press conference, New Jersey state Attorney General W. Cary Edwards characterized the motive for the murders as "profit", and said ″He set individuals up for business deals, they disappeared, and the money ended up in his hands.″.
When did Kuklinski die?
Kuklinski died on March 5, 2006 at the age of 70, in Trenton, New Jersey, under mysterious circumstances.
What happened to Kuklinski?
December 1986 was Kuklinski’s downfall, he was caught at the age of 51, and was sentenced to life in 1988.
How many men did Kuklinski kill?
Whilst in prison, he granted interviews with writers, psychiatrists and criminologists, he lapped it up, enthusiastically and excitedly telling all those that spoke to him that he had killed ‘up to 200 men’. Kuklinski died on March 5, 2006 at the age of 70, in Trenton, New Jersey, under mysterious circumstances.
Why is Richard Kuklinski called the Iceman?
Richard ‘The Iceman’ Kuklinski known as ‘The Iceman’ due to the fact he would often freeze his victims to obscure their time of death , was described as one of the most violent contracted hitmen who worked for numerous prominent Mafia crime families.
How did Kuklinski's brother die?
His elder brother died from the abuse suffered at the hands of their father. Unsurprisingly, it wouldn’t be long before Kuklinski started being violent, firstly he began killing cats in the neighborhood before committing his first murder at the age of 14, a teen in a neighboring gang, the body was never found. ...
What was Kuklinski's favorite method of killing?
His favorite method of killing, which he would later boast about was a nasal-spray bottle filled with cyanide. Kuklinski was skilled at disposing of bodies, he would remove anything that would trace the victim, such as fingers and teeth, then he would dump their bodies in rivers or mine shafts.
Did the police know that the bums were killing each other?
The police were unaware to what was occurring, they were under the impression that local ‘bums’ were killing each other. Whilst working in a New Jersey loading dock, he met his future wife Barbara, he was however already married and had two boys, but he was persistent.
What did Kuklinski do while in prison?
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. In later interviews he claimed to have killed increasing numbers of victims, many of them members of organized crime, but investigators largely regarded the assertions as dubious. These interviews resulted in three television documentaries— The 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. Bruno’s book and the first documentary were the basis for the 2012 motion picture The Iceman.
Why was Kuklinski arrested?
After Smith’s body was discovered, a six-year investigation ensued, and Kuklinski was arrested in 1986 after agreeing to help a federal undercover agent murder a fictitious man. In 1988 he was found guilty of charges related to the murders of Smith and Deppner. He later pled guilty to the murders of Malliband and Masgay.
Who was killed in the movie "Masgay"?
Malliband and Masgay had been shot to death. Gary Smith, who had been a member of a burglary ring run by Kuklinski, was given cyanide and then strangled; his body was found under a bed in a motel in 1982.
How old was Kuklinski when he died?
He was 70. In announcing his death to The Associated Press, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Deirdre Fedkenheuer, did not disclose the cause or the reason he was hospitalized. Mr. Kuklinski promoted his own notoriety by appearing in two HBO documentaries as well as meeting with writers, psychiatrists and criminologists.
When did Kuklinski confess to the murder of Peter Calabro?
Mr. Kuklinski disclosed the killing of Detective Calabro on the second HBO documentary on his life, in 2001.
How many children did Kuklinski have?
Mr. Kuklinski's wife and three children survive him. In a 1992 column in The Washington Post about the first documentary, Tom Shales called Mr. Kuklinski "the ultimate misanthrope, unapologetic and irredeemable," then mentioned a promise in the prologue to penetrate his mind.
How many people did Jerry Capeci kill?
In the first documentary, in 1992, he said he had killed up to 100 people. In an interview for "The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer" (1993) written by Anthony Bruno, he said he had killed Roy DeMeo, a particularly murderous member of the Gambino crime family, but Jerry Capeci, a well-known authority on the Mafia who has written ...
Who was the wife of the Mafia kingpin?
He married his wife, Barbara, in 1961. They lived a suburban, relatively affluent life of backyard barbecuing in Dumont, N.J. In the second documentary, Mrs. Kuklinski called them "the all-American ...
What happened to Richard Kuklinski?
As a child, Richard Kuklinski was abused by both of his parents. His father was an alcoholic that beat him daily. After becoming intoxicated and beating Richard’s older brother Florian to death, his father abandoned the family. Life was no easier after his abusive father left; his mother hit him routinely, believing her children should be raised in ...
When was Richard Kuklinski arrested?
His claims launched a joint investigation by New Jersey’s district attorney, the FBI, and ATF. On December 17, 1986 Richard Kuklinski was arrested after investigators staged a cyanide purchase deal.
What did Richard do after he killed Charley?
After Richard killed him, he cut Charley’s fingers off with a hatchet and pulled his teeth out with pliers to prevent the body from being identified . Richard then went after the rest of Charley’s gang and beat them all nearly to death with an iron rod.
Why was Richard the Shark feared?
As he got older, Richard became a well known pool shark in his area. He was feared by many because of his short fuse. In his spare time in Manhattan he would kill anyone that he felt had rubbed him the wrong way. He would shoot, stab, and bludgeon men to death but as a rule, he would never kill women.
What weapons did Richard use?
He used handguns, crossbows, sawed-off shotguns, blunt objects, knives, and cyanide. Richard would sometimes administer poison to his targets by means of injection, placing it in people’s food, aerosol spray, or by simply spilling it onto the victim’s skin. He earned the nickname, “The Iceman,” because he would occasionally place his victims in freezers after he murdered them and leave them there for years until he dumped the bodies. This confused investigators who could not figure out time of death because the victims had been frozen.
Who was the undercover agent that tried to convict Richard?
Investigators used undercover agent Dominick Polifrone’ s testimony to convict Richard. In March 1988 a jury found him guilty of five murders and he was sentenced to consecutive life sentences at Trenton State prison which made him ineligible for parole until he turned 110.
How old was Richard when he beat Charley Lane?
In 1948, when Richard was 13 years old, he got his revenge on the leader of a small neighborhood gang that had been bullying him. After years of torment, Richard snapped and beat Charley Lane to death with a wooden dowel.
Overview
Death
In October 2005, after nearly 18 years in prison, Kuklinski was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease (an inflammation of the blood vessels). He was transferred to a secure wing at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. Although he had asked doctors to make sure they revived him if he developed cardiopulmonary arrest (or risk of heart attack), his then-former wife Barbara had signed a "do not resuscitate" order. A week before his death, the hospital called Barbara to ask i…
Early life
Richard Kuklinski was born in his family's apartment on 4th Street in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Stanisław "Stanley" Kukliński (December 22,1906–January 1977), a Polish immigrant from Karwacz, Masovian Voivodeship. His father worked as a brakeman on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. His mother was Anna McNally (January 31,1911–March 21,1972) from Harsimus, a daughter of Irish Catholic immigrants from Dublin, who worked in a meat-packing pl…
Criminal life
In the mid-1960s, Kuklinski worked at a Manhattan film lab. Through the lab, he accessed master copies of popular films, and he made bootleg copies of Disney animated films to sell. Kuklinski also discovered a lucrative market for tapes of pornographic movies; copying and distributing pornography was a regular source of income for him. He was once arrested for passing a bad check, the only crime he was charged with prior to his arrest for murder. He was photographed a…
Investigation and arrest
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. He built a file on him. Eventually, five unsolved homicides—Hoffman, Smith, Deppner, Masgay, and Malliband—were linked to Kuklinski because he was the last person to see each of them alive. A joint task force of law enforcement officials titled "Operation Iceman" was created between the N…
Trial
Prosecutors charged Kuklinski with five murder counts and six weapons violations, as well as attempted murder, robbery, and attempted robbery. Law enforcement officials said Kuklinski had large sums of money in Swiss bank accounts and a reservation on a flight to that country. Kuklinski was held on a $2 million bail bond, and made to surrender his passport. After the arrest, Kuklinski told reporters ″This is unwarranted, unnecessary. These guys watch too many movies.…
Statements during interviews
During his incarceration, Kuklinski granted interviews to prosecutors, psychiatrists, criminologists, and writers. Several television producers also spoke to Kuklinski about his criminal career, upbringing, and personal life. These talks culminated in three televised documentaries known as The Iceman Tapes, broadcast on HBO in 1992, 2001, and 2003. According to his daughter Merrick Kuklinski, her mother convinced Richard to do the interviews and she was paid "handsomely" for …
Personal life
Kuklinski's first marriage was to a woman nine years his senior named Linda, with whom he had two sons (Richard Jr. and David). While Richard was working for a trucking company he met Barbara Pedrici, who was a secretary at the same firm. Kuklinski and Barbara married in 1961 and had two daughters, Merrick and Christin, and a son, Dwayne. Barbara described his behavior as alternating between "good Richie" and "bad Richie." "Good Richie" was a hard-working provider an…