Richard Kuklinski Criminological Theory

Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski was viewed as a normal man by society for much of his adult life. This man was far from normal. Kuklinski was a psychopath and a sociopath who was driven to kill by his troubled childhood and his lifestyle as a paid hit man. This paper will focus on the criminological theory of why Kuklinkski committed these murders. Richard Leonard Kuklinski was born in 1935 to Stanley and Anna Kuklinski ("Meet Notorious Contract Killer Richard Kuklinski"). He grew up in the rough projects of Jersey City, New Jersey ("Meet Notorious Contract Killer Richard Kuklinski"). His father was an alcoholic and his mother was a strict catholic. Both Stanley and Anna were very abusive to Kuklinski and his siblings ("Articles/Biographies/Criminals/Kuklinski,

In order to become affiliated with the Crime Family, Kuklinski had to participate in an initiation ("Richard Kuklinski The Iceman Mafia Hitman HBO Interview 2001 (Part 1)"). Roy Demo told Kuklinski all he had to do was kill an innocent man they seen walking his dog, to which he agreed (Richard Kuklinski The Iceman Mafia Hitman HBO Interview 2001 (Part 1)”). When the man walked by Kuklinski, he shot him and left his lifeless body lying on the sidewalk (Richard Kuklinski The Iceman Mafia Hitman HBO Interview 2001 (Part 1)"). Under the Gambino Crime Family, he sold pornographic tapes, participated in robberies, and became one of the family’s main enforcers ("Richard Kuklinski."). In an interview Kuklinski stated that he would murder anyone “if the price was right.” ("Richard Kuklinski.")He murdered by using things like ice picks, hand grenades, chainsaws, crossbows, knives, cyanide gas, and guns ("Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski Biography"). His different style of weapon choice made it very difficult for detectives to find and trace the murders to him (“Richard Kuklinski”). He killed anyone who messed with the Gambino’s, including rivals, witnesses, and even police officers ("Richard Kuklinski"). Kuklinski nickname, “The Iceman” came from him sometimes putting his victims’ bodies into a freezer and leaving them there

A psychopath is classified as someone who shows no remorse and has no conscience, while a sociopath has some sort of conscience and sometimes shows some guilt or remorse ("What's the Difference Between a Sociopath and a Psychopath"). Psychopaths do not feel sorry for other people (“What’s the Difference Between a Sociopath and a Psychopath”) and Kuklinski certainly did not feel sorry for any of his victims (“Married to The Iceman”). During an interview with HBO, Kuklinski stated that he probably could have killed his father and wouldn’t have felt bad about it ("Richard Kuklinski The Iceman Mafia Hitman HBO Interview 2001 (Part 1)"). Richard Kuklinski also showed sociopathic traits. He only showed remorse when talking about his wife and kids ("Richard Kuklinski 'The Iceman' Part 12 of 12"). During another interview he stated that he doesn’t feel sorry for anything he has done except hurting his family and he also admitted that he was wrong ("Richard Kuklinski 'The Iceman' Part 12 of 12").
Richard Kuklinski was a mentally ill individual. His childhood had a huge impact on his future because he never got over the pain his parents put him through. He took his frustrations out on others and made a career out of