Richard Leonard "The Iceman" Kuklinski (Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

: Kukliński; April 11, 1935 – March 5, 2006) was an American contract killer

Hitman

A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...

. The 6'5" (196 cm), 300 pound (135 kg) Kuklinski worked for Newark

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

's DeCavalcante crime family

DeCavalcante crime family

The DeCavalcante crime family is an organized crime family that controls organized crime activities in Elizabeth, New Jersey and surrounding areas in the state, despite operating on the other side of the Hudson River in New York, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia...

 and New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

's Five Families

Five Families

The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...

. He claimed to have murdered over 250 men between 1948 and 1986. He claimed to have committed his first murder at the age of 13. Richard Kuklinski spent the last years of his freedom living with his wife and three children in suburban Dumont, New Jersey

Dumont, New Jersey

Dumont is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The population was 17,479 at the 2010 Census.Dumont was formed on July 20, 1894, as the Borough of Schraalenburgh from portions of Harrington Township and Palisades Township, at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping...

.
Kuklinski was born in a housing project

Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...

 in Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

, to a family of mixed Polish and Irish-American descent.