Konigsberg’s home base was Bayonne. For years police and federal agents considered the hulking Kayo the most dangerous uncaged killer on the east coast. A federal official has said, “Kayo was an animal on a leash for Zicarelli and others. All they had to do was unsnap the leash and he’d kill for the fun of it.” Konigsberg shot some of his victims, throttled others with his bare hands.
—LIFE magazine: August 9, 1968

When young Eric Konigsberg discovered his uncle was a notorious mafia hit man serving a life sentence in prison, he was unable to impress his classmates with the news. Years later, as a journalist, he knew he had the biggest story of his career when “Uncle Heshy” was willing to tell all from his Western New York maximum security cell. It became the basis for a New Yorker article in 2001 and expanded into the book Blood Relation published last fall. Eric will be at the Steinhardt Building for a Noontime Lecture on July 11 discussing what this secret meant to his Jewish family.

[Kayo Konigsberg, Jewish Hit Man: 7/11/06]