The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer (Hardcover)

by Philip Carlo (Author) "At the turn of the twentieth century, Jersey City, New Jersey, the place where Richard Kuklinski was born and raised, was a bustling Polish enclave..." (more)
Key Phrases: coke buyer, cyanide spray, soft clicking sound, Richard Kuklinski, New Jersey, Jersey City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This stomach-turning account of the multiple atrocities committed over 43 years by Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski—as sadistic a killer as most readers would ever want to encounter in print—seems like more of an as-told-to than an independent journalistic narrative, though Carlo says that he verified Kuklinski's accounts where possible. But rather than critically assess Kuklinski's largely self-serving tales of his roles in such major mob killings as those of Jimmy Hoffa and Gambino boss Paul Castellano, Carlo (The Night Stalker) seems to accept them. Instead of applying objective insight into how such a murderer—who researched methods that would prolong his victims' suffering—came to be, the author presents instead chapter after chapter of Kuklinski summarily killing criminals he was hired to eliminate or randomly gunning down someone on the street to test out a new weapon. By disregarding the questions raised by Mafia experts such as Jerry Capeci about Kuklinski's credibility, Carlo has fumbled an opportunity. Sloppy errors (e.g., Rudy Giuliani served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, not the Eastern District) also detract from the book, which ends with a bizarre invitation to the reader to write to Kuklinski at the Trenton State Prison. (July 11)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Richard Kuklinski, the Ice Man of the title, has told his story before in a variety of forums, including books and videos. Here Carlo tells Kuklinski's story more or less straight from the killer's mouth, with little verification or questioning. Given Kuklinski's grandiose claims, such as participation in the unsolved murder of Jimmy Hoffa, this produces a narrative of unrelieved horror. Kuklinski reveled not only in killing but also in the suffering of his victims, and here he emphasizes how he compartmentalized his life so that his family was shielded from the nastiness of his trade. Other than fulsome detail, not much new about Kuklinski is relayed. Carlo's presentation of Kuklinski uninterrupted does, however, make for nice comparative reading with the killer's wife's book, Married to the Iceman (1994). Good as an omnibus resource on Kuklinski, this is a fine entry in the burgeoning field of works tracing the decline of the traditional organized crime families and their once impenetrable structures. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312349289
• ISBN-13: 978-0312349288
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,596 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm sure he was a cold blooded killer but....., July 25, 2006

By	Catiline "Catiline" (Corning, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I've studied NYC, NJ & Philly OC for over 20 years now. I've read 100's of books on this subject including the one by Anthony Bruno about Kuklinski about 10 years ago. Some by cops, some by feds, some by rats, some by reporters. Nowhere have I ever read, even hinted at, the more outragous claims made by Richard (Iceman) Kuklinski. A couple of the more unbelievable.

Paul (Big Paul) Castellano Shooting. HE WAS NOT THERE. This was planned and executed by "The Fist" a faction of Gambino's dissatisfied for a number of reasons with his leadership. The Fist was made up of John Gotti, Angelo Ruggerio, Frankie DeCicco, Robert (DeBee) Debenardo, and Sammy Bull Gravano. Others in the family (Gene Gotti, Joe Gallo, et al) knew of the plot, but it emulated and was executed primarily by the Bergin crew headed by Gotti. Below are the shooters. NONE was paid cash to participate. The payment was power within the Gambino's hierarchy after Big Paul was dead. There is NO WAY Gravano would have asked or Gotti would have approved of an unknown shooter being brought into the plot as a freelance mercenary.

John Carneglia Primary shooter, target Castellano, in front of Sparks,
Vincent Artuso Primary shooter, target Castellano, in front of Sparks,
Eddie Lino Primary shooter, target Billotti, in front of Sparks,
Salvatore (Fat Sally) Scala, Primary shooter, target Billotti, in front of Sparks,
Dominick (Skinny Dom) Pizzonia, Back-up shooter across E. 46th St. from Sparks,
Anthony (Tony Roach) Rampino, Back-up shooter across E. 46th St. from Sparks,
Angelo (Quack Quack) Ruggerio, Back-up shooter across E. 46th St. from Sparks,
Joe (The German)Watts, Back-up shooter across E. 46th St. from Sparks,
John Gotti In Car at 3rd Ave & E. 46th St. opposite Sparks,
Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano In Car at 3rd Ave & E. 46th St. opposite Sparks,
FrankDeCicco Inside Sparks

The association with and killing of Roy DeMeo. It is possible that Kuklinski knew DeMeo. Although no cooperating witnesses ever mentioned him. It is even possible that DeMeo kept "The Pollock" around as a secert weapon - that I'd believe. But there is NO WAY, NONE, ZERO that DeMeo would have introduced him to his supervisor in the Gambino family, Anthony Gaggi. And Gaggi wouldn't introduce himself. BTW Gaggi's dog was not a German shepard but a pure breed male boxer. Lastly, Roy was killed by fellow crew associates Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter as well as Nino after orders came from Paul to "take care of him Nino". Also, Frankie DeCicco was instructed to assist Nino if he needed shooters or back-up. Again, no one was paid. Senter and Testa were promoted to made status. Dracula was killed around the same time.

The killing of Jimmy Hoffa. C'mon not even the author could possibly believe this. It has been verified beyond dispute that Tony Pro was in NJ at the time of the killing. I'm not going to waste time reputing this BS any more.

Carmine (Lilo, Cigar) Galante Shooting. There was a lone dinner in Joe & Mary's that hot July afternoon according to Giuseppe Turano's son. However, he hit the deck when Louis Giongetti, Dominick Trinchera and Sonny Black walked in armed to teeth. Turncoat Galante bodyguard Cesare Bonventre pulled his pistol and shot loyal Galante bodyguard Leonard Coppola six times before he hit the floor. Clueless and 3rd bodyguard Baldassare (Baldo) Amato pulled his gun and dove behind a table. Sonny shotgunned Galante while Big Trin chased down Turano's son and shot him in back while he searched for a gun stored in the employee's bathroom. Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato waited in the street by the car with a M1 carbine. Louis Giongetti walked over to Coppola and shot the top of his skull of for good measure. Cesare quickly informed his cousin Baldo not to shoot and leave with him, which he did. This killing was ordered by boss Phillip Rastelli in conjuction with the Gambino's over control of the heroin market and revenge for Gambino killings. Ironically, it was the Zips headed by Salvatore Catalano & Joe Ganci who eventually took over Galante's babina business. Massino took control of the family. This account has been verified by several different sources.

Cave with Rats. Logistics would be unlikely or impossible. Try to find a remote cave 75 miles from home at night whilst guarding a live hostage. Try setting up automatic camera's w/ lights to capture the rats eating the victim. I will admit it's a sick mind to envision such things, but I doubt he actually did it. Camera, light and motion technology plus logistics of transport makes it an unlikely tale to scare women and small children.

Flare to balls. I read almost same account about Legs Diamond and a farmer in a book called Mob Stories about seven years ago. A little less graphic but, punch line was same. Probably Rich read this too. Obviously author didn't read it or don't know how to vet a source.

All in all a good book and worth the money for true crime buffs. I'm glad I bought it, but the killings Kuklinski actually did would have been enough. The other mob stuff is his own fantasy.

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where is the evidence?, September 14, 2006

By	Bookgirl "Bookgirl" (Pacific) - See all my reviews

In the preface, Carlo notes: "When and where possible all the crimes and murders Richard and I discussed were verified with underground Mafia contacts, police sources, documents, crime-scene reports, and photographs." Okay, but, "When and where possible," just does not cut it for me. I need proof.

If he used rats to eat live victims, where are the videos he took and supposedly shared? None exist? Okay, then show me a cave with some ferocious 20 lb. human-eating rats. How about an appendix with some crime reports, newspaper articles, something, anything to back up his claims of rescuing children from a child trafficker by having them call 911? I understand that cyanide is untraceable in the way the killer supposedly used it, but he used guns and knives on most of his victims. The author could have presented police reports to back up what he claims he "verified."

The story is an incredible read, but the book is not well written. Much of the same text repeats throughout various chapters, leaving the reader with that déjà vu feeling, not to mention the overuse of trite phrases such as, "Not an easy task."

As mentioned, the story itself is an incredible read, but maybe it is a little too incredible to be true. After all, we are talking about a killer here. Since when are killers trustworthy? Therefore, we must rely on Carlo to back his writing with more than, "Richard was always honest and truthful, sincere and forthright in the extreme." That's not research; that's transcribing stories from some lonely guy in jail bloviating about what may or may not have occurred.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "True Garbage", March 16, 2007

By	R.J. Rios "Little Joe Shots" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer (Paperback)

This has to be hands down one of the worst true crime books ever written! In fact the author should ashamed top have this piece of work published. Beyond the fact that ALL of the mafia related killings "The Iceman", Richard Kuklinski claimed to take part have all been either solved, the true killers and participants named in court, in law enforcement records, by informers or witnesses and none of the killings included Mr. Kuklinski's participation the whole book should be deemed a made up fantasy and the credibility of the author must now come into question for all time.

Every mafia killing mentioned from Paul Castellano to Roy DeMeo and including Carmine Galante have been solved during trial through factual evidence and through the co-operation of informers such as mafia turncoats Sammy "The Bull" Gravano and Big Joe Massino who were both top bosses within the Gambino and Bonanno crime families. Sammy Gravano, the former Gambino crime family underboss assisted with the prosecution of John Gotti having been directly involved in the Paul Castellano murder in December 1985 and gave eye witness testimony of what exactly occurred on the night in question and who participated in the famous Manhattan murder. Kukilinski did not have anything to do with the murder, nothing what so ever, he was not a member of "The F.I.S.T.", the 5 men including John Gotti and Sammy Gravano leading the faction that made the move on boss Paul Castellano. Joe Massino, the former Bonanno crime family boss was indicted in January 2003 and convicted in late 2004 through the testimony of various Bonanno crime family members turned informers who testified that Massino and various associates within the Bonanno crime family co-operated in planning and carrying out the Galante murder in the summer of 1979. Not to mention that by early 2005 Joe Massino himself began to co-operate with authorities in order to spare himself the death penalty and quickly gave new information that supported all previous testimony concerning the Galante hit and Richard Kuklinski was not even mentioned and was not even known to associate with the Massino crew at the time of Galante's murder or at any other time.

Richard Kuklinski in no way, shape or form took part in the planning, let alone did he participate in two of the most famous New York mafia killings of all time! Anybody who knows anything about he mafia, which Mr. Carlo allegedly does, then they would certainly know that no mafia members, let alone bosses would allow any outsider or low level mafia associate such as Richard Kiklinski to take part in any crime family related murder or even any serious affair that required complete secrecy and loyalty, this is mafia law and tradition that was followed by both the John Gotti and Joey Massino factions, along with participating mafia associates at the time who were either high level and very important crime family members or up and coming associates who all became top crime family leaders or members immediately after the murders, in fact that was the reason for the murders, power moves to take over leadership positions and various operations in both cases. No outsider, a non-member, let alone a "mangia cake" and total nobody like Richard Kuklinski would be trusted by any mafia boss with such high level information and secrets concerning the crime family and it's members. Nor would Kuklinski be allowed to hear any discussion or any planning concerning the high level murders in question or for that matter no participants would even gossip around non-mafia members for fear of betrayal and even fear of death for having allowed an outsider to hear the details of such important mafia affairs.

Also lets get it straight, there is no such thing as a "contract killing" within mafia crime families. Soldiers and close associates are expected to follow any orders and to eventually participate in a mafia related killing at some time, thus binding them to their officially affiliated crime family, associate faction or group and to determine their loyalty and trustworthiness. In the event of an internal conflict or mafia war only well known, longtime associates, known to be capable and trustworthy are chosen to participate in important murders, possible coups or take overs, thus guaranteeing once again no possible betrayal from outsiders. Only in certain low level affairs or situations are non-mafia members and associates used for such matters as killings, usually related to the murder of another low level associate or outsider such as the former underworld relationship or alliance once held between the Hell's Kitchen based Westies Irish gang and the Gambino crime family.

Last, but not least, the murders of Gambino crime family soldier Roy DeMeo were shown to be his former underlings within his Gemini lounge crew who committed the murders under the orders of caporegime and DeMeo superior Nino Gaggi who called DeMeo to a meeting ans set him up for the murder, once again nothing to do with Kuklinski! In fact at the time of his death Roy DeMeo was on the run from Colombian drug dealers who where seeking reprisal for a previous matter and he feared he was going to be killed by his own crime family on orders of boss Paul Castellano, which he eventually was. DeMeo would have never met with anybody such as Kuklinski, a known killer at the time, let alone meet with him while on the run when he was even avoiding his own family to keep his whereabouts a secret.

The book is a disgrace and is not even worth the paper it is printed on! Philip Carlo has lost all credibility in my opinion due to the fact that any high school student could have done the research required to discredit Mr. Kuklisnki and yet Mr. Carlo willingly did his best to pull the wool over his readers yes by supporting "The Iceman's" ridiculous claims. Outside of the murders Kuklinski was convicted on i would not pout any credibility towards anything in this book, in fact many of the so called murders allegedly committed by Kuklinski were most likely not even carried out, how can somebody who lies to that extent even be considered reliable or credible? Mr. Carlo was in good company in regards to credibility!