Rather than ever showing shame or remorse of any kind, Kuklinski reveled in the attention until his dying day. He did gain the attention of the Family, as in the mafia, becoming the preferred hitman for a number of major crime syndicates. Throughout his more than three-decade career getting paid to break society’s most basic laws, Kuklinski never once rose suspicions in his family or friends, all of whom thought he was a totally normal guy who, at worst, had a bit of a temper. After getting caught, Kuklinski would claim his death count was as high as 250, making him one of the most prolific mass murderers of all time. Of course, there were a few aspects of the Iceman’s life that weren’t unusual for men of his ilk, including a childhood filled with trauma and the thrill he described receiving after doing the unthinkable.
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What separated Kuklinski from the average serial killer were his motives, methods, and above all, the untraceable professionalism in how he took people’s lives.
Being one of the most heartless contract murderers in American history, Richard Kuklinski earned his nickname “The Iceman” primarily through that second definition, although literal ice did play a macabre role in how he committed these crimes. Due to the acts of certain fictional characters known to cometh, however, it has also come to refer to a cold-blooded killer.
All “iceman” really means is an individual happens to be in the business of buying, selling, or carving frozen water. Technically speaking, the term “iceman” is far more demure than any person to receive this moniker in modern times.