The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo
Top Mafia hit man. Doting father. For 30 years, Richard 'the Ice Man' Kuklinski led a double life beyond anything ever seen on The Sopranos, becoming one of the most notorious professional assassins in American history while hosting neighbourhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey. Kuklinski was Sammy 'the Bull' Gravano's partner in the killing of Paul Castellano at Sparks Steak House. John Gotti hired him to kill the neighbour who accidentally ran over his child. He was also intimately involved in the killing of Jimmy Hoffa. He conducted this sadistic business with cold-hearted intensity, never disappointing his customers. For an additional price, he would make his victims suffer. By his own estimate, he killed over 200 men, taking enormous pride in his cunning and the ferocity of his technique. Philip Carlo spent hundreds of hours with Kuklinski, his wife and his daughters, as well as with police and underworld sources. This research has resulted in an intimate and definitive portrait of a killer in the groundbreaking tradition of Peter Maas's bestselling biography of Sammy the Bull, Underboss, or Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy.