The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer

Philip Carlo

Apr 2007 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

Philip Carlo's The Ice Man spent over six weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. Top Mob Hitman. Devoted Family Man. Doting Father. For thirty years, Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski led a shocking double life, becoming the most notorious professional assassin in American history while happily hosting neighborhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey.

Richard Kuklinski was Sammy the Bull Gravano's partner in the killing of Paul Castellano, then head of the Gambino crime family, at Sparks Steakhouse. Mob boss John Gotti hired him to torture and kill the neighbor who accidentally ran over his child. For an additional price, Kuklinski would make his victims suffer; he conducted this sadistic business with coldhearted intensity and shocking efficiency, never disappointing his customers. By his own estimate, he killed over two hundred men, taking enormous pride in his variety and ferocity of technique.

This trail of murder lasted over thirty years and took Kuklinski all over America and to the far corners of the earth, Brazil, Africa, and Europe. Along the way, he married, had three children, and put them through Catholic school. His daughter's medical condition meant regular stays in children's hospitals, where Kuklinski was remembered, not as a gangster, but as an affectionate father, extremely kind to children. Each Christmas found the Kuklinski home festooned in colorful lights; each summer was a succession of block parties.

His family never suspected a thing.

Richard Kuklinski is now the subject of the major motion picture titled "The Iceman"(2013), starring James Franco, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, and Chris Evans.

Ratings and reviews

Should be in the fiction section. No Richard Kuklinski wasn't affiliated with the Gambino crime family. No he didn't kill Paul Costellano Carmine Galante Roy DeMeo or any mafia figure. Funny how none zero zilch not one of the literal thousands of former Wise Guys who turned snitch in the 80s until the 00s ever mentioned the 6'6 300 pound non-Italian assassin. My favorite BS claim is that he killed Jimmy Hoffa. If you want to read a real non bogus mob book read Murder Machine.

The Iceman has always fascinated me. Seeing him interviewed before his death and the fact that he seems so cold but is completely different when he speaks of his family. By all means, obviously he is a killer and I don't condone murder but his upbringing, his abusive father and environment changes many peoples course in life. Read the book. It's a great read.

Why on God's green earth was he thinking repent CO.es to my mind I'll way of living his life I read the whole book in 24hours kept shaki g my head the whole rim o tried to put the book down but that didn't CE out to well he is hella stupid to go public with his messed up life style so much for keepi

About the author

Philip Carlo was the author of Gaspipe, The Butcher, and The Night Stalker, which chronicles the brutal career of serial killer Richard Ramirez. Carlo grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, amidst the world's highest concentration of Mafia members. When he was 16, Carlo was shot in the head in a gang war, and while recuperating, he read voraciously, discovering the magic of books for the first time. His intimate knowledge of Mafia culture—their walk and their talk—helped Carlo become a successful crime writer. He died in 2010 from ALS.