The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer Mass Market Paperback – April 28, 2009

This is my 2nd copy of this book.I loaned the first one to someone and they never returned it.

Pretty in depth about the start to finish off Kuklinski. Tells of a lot of what he did, his thoughts on things, and the eventual end, including the obsession of the detective once Richard was on his radar.Great writing, great read.

This item arrive quickly Via Amazon prime.Nearly 600 pages of pure horror. At first glance that might not seem like a compliment, but that's the best way I can describe the experience of reading this book. While there are definite doubts that some (if not many) of the details and events contained in the book are factual, it still doesn't change the fact that such things have been done, or were supposed to have been done.Covering the exploits of real-life Mafia Hitman Richard Kuklinski, "The Ice Man": Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer takes you down a rat-hole of constant and extreme violence carried out with total and complete indifference. I'd heard that much of the events contained within this book were likely not done by one man, and that some of them likely never happened at all. Thus, I approached it with a certain amount of skepticism and allowed myself to go with the flow, as if it were a work of fiction.Even with treating the story as such, it's still unequivocally the most violent and excessive thing I've ever read. The bodies hardly ever stop dropping, and the events between are often more terrifying than the "hits" themselves. Philip Carlo created a masterpiece of real life psychological terror with this book. It doesn't matter how big or tough you are, after you read this story, you'll be watching over your shoulder for days, and your public behavior will improve drastically.This book leaves its mark. If you can handle that, it's a long but incredible read. You won't be able to put it down, and that's what will scare you the most.

Very well written, keeps you turning those pages. Chapters are not long which I like.

Continuing his journey through the minds and lives of mafia involved killers, Philip Carlos tries his hand at the life of Richard Kuklinski, in The Iceman: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer. This book pulls back the typical dehumanizing aspects from books about killers, and puts the facts into an easy to follow story. This humanization of Richard Kuklinski allows the reader to focus on other things such as; the power of the mafia and their associates, the hard work of the NYPD, and the lasting effects of a more than disturbing childhood.With a ruthless father who would beat him at any moment, and a religious tyrant of a mother, it was no surprise that Richard Kuklinski would amount to a life of crime. As a child Richard was never taught the difference between right and wrong; he was simply just wrong all the time and beat repeatedly for it. Not only would Richard’s father Stanley beat his children relentlessly but also his wife as well. These abusive tendencies would surface in Richard’s own marriage later in life as he would beat his wife Barbara (whom he really did love) repeatedly to the point that she would actually suffer from two miscarriages. Besides being beaten by his father and mother, Richard was also repeatedly abused by the nuns at his Catholic school and even other children of his apartment building. It wasn’t just Richard that suffered from a household filled with pain, but his siblings as well. When Richard was just six years old his brother Florian was killed by his father Stanley, and the family was forced to cover it up, in fear of what Stanley might do. The aftermath of this horrifying childhood also led Richard’s younger brother Joseph to a life of crime, and in 1970 was charged with the rape and killing of a teenage girl. When Richard was asked about his brother’s crimes he simply replied, “We come from the same father,”(Page 145). There’s no denying that mafia families are powerful, but in the 1950’s they ran the cities that they inhabited. With news of Richard Kuklinski’s useful skills and undeniable discreteness, he seemed as if he could be a powerful asset, and every family was dying to get their hands on him. With the Five Families breathing down his back, and putting wads of cash in his pockets, there was no way for Richard to turn away from them. Richard was hired to kill dozens of marks, and all for a satisfactory price. Local cops were unable to catch on due to Richard’s interchanging methods; guns, knives, bats, fire, and poison, he used it all. The cops that did know what was going on however, made a slight profit off of their silence. It didn’t take long before famous mafia members such as Paul Castellano and Roy DeMeo had Richard roped into more than murder. Soon he was distributing porn, prescription pills, and extensive amounts of cocaine. The desire for money, along with help from the the Five Families transformed Richard into a man that craved only one thing; power. The arrest of Richard Kuklinski not only required the betrayal of some his closest friends, but also the hard work of truly passionate detectives. Mid 1980’s a detective named Pat Kane teamed up with Dominic Polifrone for an undercover assignment. Kane got Richard’s friend Phil Solimene to introduce Dominic Polifrone as a prospective client, and the operation was a go. It took almost a year before Polifrone got Richard on tape describing how he would kill a man. Once Richard was arrested, a jury found that he could only be connected to a total of 5 deaths; which was impressive as Richard had racked up the blood of nearly 200 men on his hands. Due to the fact that he pleaded guilty, Richard would not be sentenced to death, instead he was charged with repeated life sentences. As he had managed to keep his double life a secret from his wife and kids, Richard’s only regret was to have to “See the embarrassment, humiliation, and shame his family would have to suffer,” (Page 465). Even though many would argue that people are born killers or that they are just plain evil, author Philip Carlos makes the not-so-subtle argument that people can be caused to metamorphosize into a killer, based on a life filled with unruly circumstances. It’s unknown what Richard’s life could have been like if he hadn't been beaten without mercy, powerfully persuaded by the mafia, or arrested midlife. It is clear however, that Richard Kuklinski had become a money seeking, power craving individual. After confessing to the killing of his long time friend George Malliband (Which had been requested by Roy DeMeo), Richard had only one thing to say; “It was- it was do due to business,” (Page 475).

Just when you thought it was safe to go out on the streets.Unbelievable how a human being can be so ruthless and vicious with not a flicker of remorse.The worst part ... he's not in a league of his own.

Gripping...Fast paced...Amazing read....Totally glued

Au gré de la lecture, un sentiment d'empathie nous envahis pour un etre qui aurait certainement pu vous oter la vie..

This guy is a monster ,with no feelings whatsoever ,except family often beating his wife up ,a very dark person ,with no remorse .a great read .

I was out with some friends for Christmas dinner and we got talking about good books to read. One of our party recommended this True Crimes book, giving some graphic illustrations of the methods used to dispose of bodies whilst we were tucking into our turkey and ham dinner. Needless to say the girls among us were none too pleased to hear the shocking exploits of this Mafia hitman.Undeterred I had to read it first hand, thinking my friend was maybe a little over exaggerating the crimes of Richard Kulkinski. But if the book is to believed and I have no evidence/reason to doubt it, then my friend rather under played just how cruel this killer was.He was a brutal sadistic cold blooded killer and though very little for the sanctity of life, its hard to believe he got away with his crimes for so long. Makes you wonder if there's other Richard Kulkinski's out there at this very minute stalking the streets killing ???The book is well researched and written in a journalistic manner the pace keeps you turning the pages right to the end hoping with every page turned the next would be the one when The Iceman is caught.Not for the fain hearted.