The Rockland County podiatrist who prosecutors said tried to have his wife killed twice issued a teary apology following his first botched murder plot – as court papers laid out the ex-couple’s tumultuous marriage.
Dr. Ira Bernstein claimed at his 2017 sentencing that he was “humiliated, humbled and frankly embarrassed,” and said he would be a “compassionate and good-hearted man in the future” as he faced spouse Susan Bernstein in court.
“To Susan, we had a very stressful marriage, but no matter what happened there is no justification for entering into a conspiracy to have you murdered,” he told his wife whom he shares three children with as he got choked up in court, according to video captured by Lohud.com.
But the foot doc’s past plea for mercy appeared short-lived when he pleaded guilty this week to tampering with evidence in connection to a second murder-for-hire bid, prosecutors said.
Bernstein was released from prison in 2021 after serving four years behind bars only to try to arrange his wife’s murder around a year later, according to the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office.
During the second plot, Bernstein was recorded asking a landscaper to kill his estranged wife, and then tried to get the file destroyed, prosecutors said.
Ira and Susan tied the knot in August 2001, but had a rocky marriage before their relationship fizzled about 15 years later. The two are now divorced.
She pulled no punches on her hubby during the 2017 sentencing, labeling him “evil” and a remorseless deadbeat father who rather lived in luxury as his kids suffered.
“He hasn’t paid a penny of support money to me or the children for almost five months since he pled guilty in January,” she said.
“While we are living in a hell, a constant state of crisis, Ira has been living with Kelly in the luxurious Montebello Pines and supporting his high-flying lifestyle.”
She said he’s paid for trips to Florida, Broadway shows, steak and lobster dinners and elective eye surgery.
“He has the money,” she claimed. “But won’t even pay for my children’s therapist to help them heal from the damage he permanently caused.”
When Susan filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of their three children against Ira in 2017 over the failed murder plot, her husband threw his own array of accusations against her, claiming she had mood swings from anger to affection.
Susan filed for divorce twice in the span of a few years, according to legal papers.
She allegedly conjured up false claims of abuse against her and the three children, using the trio as “pawns” when she tried to get him to sign a postnuptial agreement during the first divorce proceeding that ended in February 2016, according to his counterclaim.
Susan then gave him a birthday card on April 23, 2016 with a note that stated, “I think this should be a good year. Love you,” but filed to divorce again about two weeks later, along with a restraining order, Ira’s counterclaim alleged.
The wife denied Ira’s inflammatory accusations, court records show.
It’s unclear what the status of the civil case is. The Post has sought comment from lawyers involved in the case.
During the first murder plot, he and his then-lover Kelly Gribeluk tried to hire someone for $100,000 to kill Susan, but were instead turned in by the prospective hitman, according to prosecutors.
The ex-wife also filed a civil lawsuit in connection to the second murder scheme in 2023, which is ongoing.
Ira Bernstein will be sentenced in December, in which he could face one and a half to three years in prison for trying to destroy evidence tied to the second murder plot, according to prosecutors.
His sister Jaclyn Goldberg, who the district attorney’s office accused of helping him in the evidence tampering, is expected to reach a resolution in the case that could see the charges dropped against her in six months if she stays out of trouble.
