richard kuklinski

Richard Kuklinski was born April 11, 1935 in a low income housing project in Jersey City. His father was a brakeman for the railroad, while his mother worked in a meat packing facility. He didn't like his father, who beat him whenever he felt like it, for no reason whatsoever. His mother was also very abusive, striking Richard with broomsticks and other objects when he didn't do exactly what he wanted. He was raised in a strong Catholic environment and his mother was extremely strict.

He grew up going to a Catholic grammar school and worked as an altar boy in the church. His father abandoned the family, leaving Richard on the streets to fend for himself. By the time he was sixteen, he was already reputable on the streets and took out anyone that got in his way. He once used a bar from a clothes line to severely beat six young men from a street gang who accosted him on the street.

He expressed an unbelievable cruelty to animals. For pastimes, he would tie the tails of cats together and throw them over a clothesline to watch them tear each other apart. He would also put cats into the apartment building's incinerator to watch them burn alive. He also took dogs up to the roof of the building to throw them off and tie them to the bumpers of city buses.

Richard was known for being very offensive, not hesitating to strike anyone that rubbed him the wrong way. He always carried at least two derengers and a knife on his person while on the streets for protection. He stated that his first murder was in 1949 at the age of fourteen, when he beat a bully to the death. He felt terrible the first time and was very upset since the death was unintentional. However, he also felt a rush and began to love the rush and feeling of power that he got from beating other people or killing them.

By the 1960s, he had become a well known street tough and pool hustler. In 1960 he met a woman named Barbara, who thought he was incredibly sweet by delivering flowers to her door every day and buying her gifts frequently. They had three children, but he was not able to get a good enough job to support the family since he only had an eighth grade education. He worked at a film lab, where he pirated pornographic films and sold them to people connected with the Gambino Crime Family.

Soon he was doing hit jobs for the family, working with a gang that operated from the Gemini Lounge in Brooklyn. Kuklinski's brutality allowed him to collect money from debtors, who paid with either their money, or their lives. In the basement of the Gemini Lounge, bodies were hacked up and carried out wrapped in plastic to be disposed of. Because of the fear that Kuklinski inspired in people, most people repaid their debts to the family.

One man tried to hide behind a door when Kuklinski arrived, but he saw the man's movement behind the door. When the man looked through the peephole, Kuklinski fired a gun through the peephole, killing the man.

Among his methods of torture, Richard used a chainsaw to dismember people while they were still alive. He described it as messy, but he was willing to do things such as remove a man's tongue and insert it in the man's anus to send a message across.

Richard was an expert in using cyanide (the same chemical used in gas chambers) to poison people. He would put it in liquid form and put it in their drink or merely dump it on them in a bar, where it would go through their sweat pores and go into their bloodstream, eventually killing them. His methods of disposing of bodies consisted of putting them in cars that are crushed, sides of roads, park benches, steel drums, and water bodies.

By the 1970s, Richard had become very wealthy from being a hitman. He lived in an expensive middle-class home in a good neighborhood with his wife and children. He charged at least $50,000 per hit and told his family and neighbors that he was a businessman. His wife never questioned his behavior, even though he left at odd hours and kept his business extremely quiet.

His wife and children had no idea of his real occupation and to outsiders they seemed like a perfect family. He hated traveling and returned as soon as he could to be with his family as much as possible. He made sure that his family was never given the same horrible childhood experiences that he had endured during his own childhood. He was fascinated by the loving environment he experienced with his family since he had never known such love before.

Once, while his family was celebrating on Christmas Eve, he had to go out to collect some money. The man was giving Richard the runaround and he killed the man in his car with a handgun. He returned home to his family and put toys together for his kids for Christmas while he watched the newsreel on the murder.

By the 1980s, he had become the leading man in a crime ring. On one day, Paul Hoffman, a pharmacist, met with Richard to purchase Tagament and make a profit. When Hoffman showed up, he carried $25,000 in cash, Richard put the gun under his chin, saying "There is no merchandise" and shot him. The shot didn't kill Hoffman and he lay on the floor with blood pouring out, but Richard couldn't kill him since his gun had jammed. He used a tire iron to finish him off, put his corpse in a steel drum, and left it by a hotel, where it sat for several weeks.

He became involved in pornography, narcotics, contract killing, and gambling on a worldwide scale. His hits started to get sloppy and he began leaving behind evidence, which caused the FBI and police to keep a closer eye on him.

On December 27, 1982, the body of a man named Gary Smith was found in a hotel room, poisoned with cyanide and strangled to death. Twenty people used the room before the body was found under the bed, decomposing rapidly. Since Richard had left strangulation marks, it was obvious that the man was the victim of a murder.

On September 25, 1983, the body of Louis Masgay was found in a park. Richard had frozen the body two years before dumping it to confuse the time of death, earning him the nickname iceman from investigators. Unfortunately the body wasn't fully thawed before it was found and the forensics investigators discovered foul play was involved.

Another body was found on May 14, 1983 on a secluded bicycle trail. The man was named Daniel Deppner and was the third business associate of Richard to be found dead in the past year. After a few more months, two more bodies were found, whose last contact had been with Richard Kuklinski, implicating him in their murders. The police had been investigating him for three years and began to close their net on him.

In 1986, a task force of state, local, and federal authorities was set up solely to investigate past and current evidence possibly related to Richard Kuklinski. They found that the murders were diverse and didn't appear to have many connections, therefore they put an undercover agent in place to gather evidence that could put Kuklinski on trial. The agent was named Dominick Polifrone and told Kuklinski that he was also a hit man, working for wise guys in downtown New York. He recorded Kuklinski talking about his murders and offering to perform a hit for him. It became apparent to investigators that Richard was planning on killing the agent, since he was so open about his murders and past experiences with him.

On December 17, 1986, the task force set up a road block and arrested Kuklinski. It took five people to restrain the huge man and put him in a vehicle. He was charged with five murders initially and his court trial was widely televised. He confessed to all of the murders, referring to the matter as business. His family was totally shocked and horrified, refusing to believe that Richard was a contract killer. He is considered one of the most diabolical killers in history and was sentenced to two lifetimes in prison, making him first eligible for parole at the age of 111.

Over his lifetime, he claims to have killed over two hundred people. He says that he feels no remorse for murdering people, but probably wouldn't do it if he didn't have to. He says that he doesn't think about his actions because they do bother him if he thinks about them enough. He regrets being a hit man since he now feels that he could have done something better. When he was interviewed in 1991 for a documentary, he showed little emotion, except when asked about the impact on his family, at which point he began tearing up.

Richard Kuklinski died at 1:15 AM on March 5, 2006. His death was reportedly due to natural causes, but some speculate that it was timed perfectly to prevent his testifying against Salvatore Gravano, former Gambino Family underboss.

Cyanide poisoning is a terrible way to die. It interferes with the cellular enzyme system that processes the body's utilization of oxygen: The victim asphyxiates as the cells starve. If ingested, there's a burning in the mouth and throat, and the victim quickly grows dizzy and disoriented. While it's possible to survive cyanide, it's a fast-acting poison that tortures as it kills. Often the pathologist doesn't think to look for cyanide as a cause, because the pinkish spots on the skin are consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning as well. However, if detected before the body absorbs it, a bitter almond smell lingers in the corpse's mouth, tipping savvy investigators to cyanide's use.

Murder by poison is usually committed in families or close groups, because the victim generally must ingest it. That requires getting close and even developing a bit of trust.

That's what the Iceman counted on.


Richard Kuklinski - The Iceman
(CORBIS)
Richard Kuklinski, a scam artist, had learned how to use cyanide to take out those who stressed him, and now he had to take care of one of his own associates. Gary Smith helped him steal cars to resell for profit, but he was a weak man and the police were on to him. There was a warrant out for Smith's arrest on the charges of stealing and cashing checks. It was just before Christmas in 1982 and to shield Smith, Kuklinski was moving him around from one New Jersey motel to another. It wasn't that he liked Smith. It was that he was afraid that the man would talk. Already he'd defied orders and hitchhiked home to see his daughter. There was clearly no way to control him? except for one.

Fellow car thief Danny Deppner assisted him, but there was a warrant out for Deppner as well, and he, too, could not keep his mouth shut.

Kuklinski let Deppner know through his estranged wife, Barbara, that it was time for Gary to "go to Florida," which meant it was time for him to die. Kuklinski had tired of hiding him and footing the bill, not to mention bringing him food every day in whatever hotel he was in. He was concerned that one or the other of these men would willingly make a deal to save his own skin, and he was not going to let that happen. If Kuklinski was anything, he was careful.


Gary Smith, victim
One evening in December, in the York Motel off Route 3 near the Lincoln Tunnel, Kuklinski brought hamburgers to room 31. Smith liked burgers, so that made things easier. Kuklinski handed over the bag of food, giving one wrapped burger to Deppner, who knew that his was okay. They both watched as Smith wolfed down the other burger, but nothing happened.

Kuklinski was puzzled. He'd mixed cyanide in ketchup and it was supposed to work pretty fast, but Smith wasn't showing any sign of it. He took another bite.

Then he started to choke.

Kuklinski was pleased. Finally the stuff was working. Smith was losing control, but he still wasn't dying quickly. Kuklinski signaled to Deppner that it was time for the next step. Deppner took a lamp cord and put it around Smith's throat. He tightened it several times until his colleague-in-crime was no longer breathing. Even as he performed this grisly task, he probably knew he was watching how his own death would play out one day�aybe soon.

When Barbara Deppner failed to return with a car to remove the body, Kuklinski had Smith placed beneath the mattress and box springs. Let someone else find the guy.

And someone did. Four days later, just after Christmas, the fourth couple to rent the room complained to management of an ungodly odor. When the mattress was lifted, the bloated, blackened body that had been baking all that time in the heated room was found. It was later identified as Gary Smith.


Danny Deppner, victim
While Deppner did the killing, he realized that now he knew too much. Kuklinski didn't like that about anyone. When people learned too much about his business, they were gone. Deppner knew that his turn was next and there was nothing he could do about it. Since there was a warrant out for him for burglary and car theft, like Smith, he was being kept in a variety of motels, compliments of Kuklinski.

Then one day in January 1983, there were no more trips to motels for Kuklinski. The "problem" had been solved.

It wasn't until May that a giant turkey buzzard signaled Deppner's whereabouts. A man on a bicycle rode closer to see what the bird was doing and noticed a large shape wrapped in green garbage bags. When he saw a face and arm sticking out from a tear in the bag, he alerted the police. They noted that the dumpsite was just over three miles from a ranch where the Kuklinski family often went riding. From photos in his possession, they were able to identify him. The cause of death was "undetermined," although pinkish spots on the skin were noted and photographed.

Kuklinski became a prime suspect, but he proved to be the devil himself when it came to getting evidence on him. The man was clever and elusive.

These were not Kuklinski's first murders. In fact, he'd been killing since he was fourteen years old, usually for profit but sometimes just to rid himself of a problem. By the time he took out Smith and Deppner, he'd been a hit man for the Mafia. But it wasn't his sociopathic personality that earned him the nickname "The Iceman." It was something else.

Leonard M. Wichlacz, 77, Pulaski, passed away peacefully the evening of Sept. 29, 2007, with his loving family at his side.


Born Oct. 23, 1929, to Frank and Sophie (Kutchek) Wichlacz on a small farm in the town of Maple Grove, Leonard enjoyed his youth working and playing with his four brothers, attending Laney Grade School and graduating from Pulaski High School in 1948. He worked at the Northern Shoe Factory until he was drafted into the Army in 1952, serving his country at a military base in Chicago for two years. After working in Chicago for a while, he returned to Pulaski where he worked for Kuklinski Lumber Company.


On April 30, 1960, he married the former Patricia Hodkiewicz at Assumption BVM Church in Pulaski and they settled in the area to raise their family.


In 1966, Leonard started Wichlacz Lumber in Pulaski, supplying building materials and creating many beautiful homes in the area. He oversaw the operation until 2002 when he retired to his other passion, farming.


Leonard's two farms kept him very busy through the years, where he enjoyed driving his tractors and working the land for crops. He and his wife, Pat, consistently grew the sweetest sweet corn around and many people in the area enjoyed the fruits of their labor. He also enjoyed involving his family and friends in his variety of farm chores around the countryside and many home projects. Leonard enjoyed spending many happy times and traveling with his wife, Pat, family and friends, reading, watching westerns, hunting, fishing, golfing, bowling, listening to polka music and meeting the guys for coffee each morning. His talents in carpentry created many memorable gifts and home treasures for his family and friends.


Leonard was a member of the American Legion Mixtacki-Johnson Post #337, Pulaski, a charter member of the Knights of Columbus, Bishop Bona Council #4439, Pulaski and a member of the Holy Name Society of Assumption B.V.M. Church. He also served his community on the Pittsfield Planning Commission.


He leaves behind his loving wife, Patricia; their two sons, three daughters, one daughter-in-law and son-in-law and four grandchildren; Ken & Diana Wichlacz, Brianna and Connor, Pulaski; Jim Wichlacz, Pulaski; Jamie Wichlacz, Kristopher and Madeline (Rauscher), Pulaski; Susie and Neil Wichlacz-Worthingham, St. Paul, Minn; and Mary Lou Wichlacz, Minneapolis, Minn; brothers, Fred (Carmen), Pepin, Robert (Dorothy), Chippewa Falls, Frank (Diane), Pulaski; one sister-in-law, Bernice Wichlacz, Pulaski; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Richard (Genny) Hodkiewicz, Pulaski, Gerald (Diane) Hodkiewicz, Fond du Lac, Dennis (Sharon) Hodkiewicz, Shawano, and many nieces, nephews and their children.


He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Norbert, and an infant brother; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Agnes and John Hodkiewicz; aunts, uncles and one nephew.


Friends may call at Marnocha Funeral Home, Pulaski from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Veterans service at 7 p.m. Closing prayer service at 7:30 p.m. Visitation continues after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Assumption B.V.M. Church, Pulaski. Funeral Mass 10:30 a.m. at the church, Fr. Patrick Gawrylewski, O.F.M., presiding. Committal service with full military honors to follow in the parish cemetery.


The family would like to thank Fr. Patrick Gawrylewski and the many relatives and friends who worked on projects, helped on the farm and stopped by to visit Leonard during his year long battle with cancer. Special appreciation to the loving and caring providers of Unity Hospice for their support, kind words, smiles and hugs, especially Patty, Julie and Mary who could always bring a smile to Leonard's face. May God bless you all for serving others with respect, grace and dignity during their time of great need.

Richard Kuklinski was born April 11, 1935 to poor Polish parents in a low income housing project in Jersey City. His father was a brakeman for the railroad and his mother worked in a meat packing plant.

He didn't like his father Stanley, who beat him constantly and his mother Hanna was also very abusive. He grew up going to a Catholic grammar school and worked as an altar boy in the church and he grew up hating his father for the abuse and humiliation he suffered. His father finally abandoned the family, leaving Richard to fend for himself.

In 1949 Richard committed his first murder when he bludgeoned a neighbourhood bully to death at the age of eighteen while protecting his territory. For months after his first kill Richard was terrified and often physically ill, thinking he would be arrested for the crime but he also felt a rush and began to love the feeling of power that he got from the killing. He now saw himself as a someone.

He also expressed an unbelievable cruelty to animals. He would tie the tails of cats and throw them over a clothesline to watch them tear each other apart. He would also put cats into the apartment building incinerator to watch them burn alive.

He had a brother Joey who'd gone to prison at the age of 25 after raping and killing a twelve-year old girl and throwing her body from the roof of a building. He then threw her dog to the ground after her. For this he was sentenced to life at Trenton State Prison....he is now deceased.

Timeline
Richard a man of many deals and usually several at once, stole cars, traded in food, guns and drugs. He worked at a film lab, where he pirated pornographic films and sold them to people connected with the Gambino Crime Family. Eventually he got involved in business deals with Roy DeMeo, the most feared hit-man for the Gambino family.

Soon he was doing hit jobs for the family, working with a gang that operated from the Gemini Lounge in Brooklyn, NY. Richards brutality allowed him to collect money from debtors, who paid with either their money or their lives. In the basement of the Gemini Lounge bodies were hacked up and carried out wrapped in plastic to be disposed of. Because of the fear the he inspired in most people, most repaid their debts to the family.

In 1960 he met 19 year old Barbara Hendren and they married in 1961 and had three children, two girls and one boy. They lived the lives of gamblers - one day they were rolling in money and the next they were broke.

By the 1970's, Richard had become well off from being a hit man. He lived in an expensive middle-class home in a good neighbourhood with his wife and three children. He charged at least $50,000 per hit and told his family and neighbours that he was a businessman. The Iceman who claims to have killed over 200 people, led a "seemingly" normal family life. He was just the big guy in the split level down the street.

Kuklinski's mentor DeMeo was a capo in the Gambino crime family and had a nearly psychopathic temper and a bloodthirsty reputation. The members of his Brooklyn crew were young, vicious, and had a taste for the ghoulish. They did their dirty work in an apartment rented by DeMeo's cousin, a man nicknamed Dracula. DeMeo would make people disappear here. Methods varied but it always involved stabbing the victim's heart repeatedly to stop the gushing blood, hanging the body over the tub to drain it, carving it up into small pieces, wrapping them tight, then distributing them around the city a Dumpster here, a garbage can there.