Richard Kuklinski, 70; Notorious Mafia Assassin Was Known as ‘The Iceman’

Richard Kuklinski, 70, a notorious Mafia hit man known as “The Iceman,” who claimed to have killed more than 100 people and was the subject of several books and two cable television documentaries, died Sunday at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, N.J.

A spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Corrections did not disclose the cause of death but said it was not suspicious.

Kuklinski, who was serving consecutive life sentences at New Jersey State Prison for two murders, typically used cyanide administered from a nasal spray on his victims and earned the nickname “The Iceman” because he kept some bodies in a freezer.

Kuklinski’s admissions of guilt in TV interviews and in court were shocking to his wife, Barbara, who said in an HBO interview: “We were perfect. We were the all-American family.”