Top 5 Deadliest Mafia Hitmen. These 5 deadly hitmen all carried out hits for different mafia families. These hitmen have legendary status, which is not very justified given how gruesome their actions were
5. Thomas Pitera
Thomas Pitera was a hitman for the Bonanno crime family in the 1980s. He is believed to have carried out as many as 60 murders during his career with the Mob. Taking pleasure in his work, he often dismembered his victims after killing them and would cautiously bury them in plastic or in suitcases. He also liked to keep trophies like jewelry, which is a classic trademark of deranged serial killers and not in line with Mafia “etiquette.”
4. Joseph Barboza
Barboza was performed contract killings for the Patriarca crime family. Barboza earned his nickname “The Animal” in an altercation in the 1950's. While drinking one night, he was told off by an elderly man who didn’t appreciate his crude behavior. In retaliation, Barboza slapped the old man in the face. Underboss Harry Tameleo shouted at Barboza, saying, “I don’t want you to ever slap that man. I don’t want you to touch anybody with your hands again.” Barboza then bit the man’s ear and, chewed on his cheek.
3. Roy DeMeo
DeMeo and his crew killed about 200 people for the Gambino Family. They mainly used the “Gemini method,”: One member (allegedly almost always DeMeo himself) would shoot the victim in the head with a silenced pistol and immediately wrap the wound with a towel to stem the blood flow. After that, another gang member would stab the victim through the heart to reduce the blood flow from the head wound. The body was then hung upside down in the bathroom to drain and was later dismembered and dumped.
2. Giovanni Brusca
A Sicilian Mafia member who claims to have murdered as many as 200 people for the Sicilian Corleonesi Family. He was nicknamed “The Pig” for his unkempt appearance. His most gruesome act was kidnapping the 11-year-old son of a gang-member-turned-informant and torturing the boy for more than two years in an effort to get the fellow mobster to retract his testimony. The boy was later murdered and his remains were disposed of in sulfuric acid.
1. Richard Kuklinski
Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski is one of the most prolific contract killers ever to have worked for the Mafia. He claimed to have personally committed as many as 250 murders and took his first life at 13. As a kid, Kuklinski sadistically tortured and killed neighborhood animals for fun and took out his anger fighting and killing local bullies as well. Working as a hitman for Mafia crime families in the 1950s, he would stalk bums and kill people who had offended him to practice his skills and master his craft.
