A prolific Mafia hitman, Richard Kuklinski worked for the Genovese, DeCavalcante, and Gambino crime families. He stood six-foot-five-inches tall and weighed 300 pounds. But it was his cold-blooded methods of murder that instilled true terror in his victims - who only knew him as "The Iceman."

Kuklinski was born on April 11, 1935, in Jersey City, New Jersey. His father was a violent alcoholic who beat him and his brother so badly that his brother eventually died. Kuklinski's first murder occurred shortly after that. He took his rage out on a local bully, whom he beat to death before removing identifying markers from the body.

Kuklinski's temper led him to wanton killings across New York City as an adult. The Mafia caught wind of his brutal indifference, with loanshark Roy DeMeo of the Gambino Family hiring him to strong-arm debtors. The Genovese family made him their primary hitman, while the DeCavalcante Family hired him for specific hits.

The towering hitman enjoyed a multitude of weapons. From guns, ice picks, and grenades to crossbows and chainsaws, nothing was off limits. His favorite method involved a nasal spray bottle full of cyanide. According to Kuklinski himself, he murdered between 100 and 200 people, including teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa.

Ensnared by authorities, fellow Mafia man Phil Solimene wore a wire while getting Kuklinski to agree to murder somebody for money. Convicted of six first-degree murders, Kuklinski was serving consecutive life sentences when he died behind bars of an incurable inflammation of the blood vessels in 2006.

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