What makes a person who they are? Is it genetics, environment, or a combination of both? Personally I believe that it is a combination but our environment and upbringing are the major factors in how we turn out. This is the case with Richard Kuklinski I believe that along with genetics, his childhood environment significantly molded him into the person he became.
Richard Leonard Kuklinski was born on April 11, 1935. He was the second of three children born to Stanley Kuklinski and Anna McNally. He grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey.5 Richard had a rough childhood. His father was an abusive alcoholic and his mother was a verbally abusive devout catholic. At the age of five Richard’s father beat his older brother Florian to death. He then made the family cover it up and tell the police Florian had fallen down the stairs.…show more content… He married Barbara Pedrici and had three children; Christen, Marrick, and Dwayne. On the outside they had a perfect family and he was the best husband and father anyone could have. Richard regularly threw neighborhood barbecues and was an usher at church.5 However this outward appearance was all a façade. Richard had turned into his father and regularly beat his wife Barbara. In a CNN interview she admitted that he stabbed her, broke her nose, broke her ribs, strangled her, and threatened to kill her on many occasions.1 Kuklinski never beat his kids but his daughter, Marrick, confessed that he once told her, “If I ever accidently kill your mother in a fit of rage, I’m going to have to kill you and your siblings too.”1 Richard’s family actually had no idea about the gruesome murders that he committed. They thought Richard was just a businessman. Barbara Kuklinski defended that her lack of knowledge about Richard’s real job is a result of not asking questions. She explained that if he got up to leave she would never ask why or where he was going in order to avoid his explosive