A former New York podiatrist pleaded guilty to a handful of charges stemming from allegations that he arranged to have his estranged wife killed last year, just months after he was paroled from prison after being busted for an identical plot years earlier.
Ira Bernstein, 49, was charged with multiple felonies last week after evidence suggested he attempted to solicit the murder of his wife, Susan Bernstein, and then conspired to destroy evidence with his lawyer sister between July 29 and Sept. 21, 2022, the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Bernstein’s sister, Jaclyn Goldberg, was also charged with one count of tampering with physical evidence, one count of third-degree hindering the prosecution, and one count of fifth-degree conspiracy.
Both pleaded guilty, lohud.com reported.
As of Tuesday morning, Goldberg, 40, was still listed as a member of the Keane & Beane P.C. law firm, where she acted as labor counsel.
In 2015, Bernstein plotted with his then-lover, Kelly Gribeluk, to pay a car salesman $100,000 to kill Susan, lohud.com said.
The sick plan was foiled when the salesman reported the couple to the police. Bernstein subsequently pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy and other charges, and was sentenced to five to 15 years behind bars in 2017.
At the sentencing, Susan Bernstein told the judge her husband was “evil,” and risked having their special-needs daughter killed in order to get rid of his estranged wife.
“This is beyond sickening,” she said in court.
“My children knew their father was evil. Ira is evil.”
Bernstein and Gribeluk were paroled within months of each other in 2021.
The latest charges against Bernstein and his sister are unrelated to the original case, the prosecutor’s office confirmed in a statement.
“I commend the Ramapo Police Department for their investigative work and the detectives from Rockland County District Attorney’s Office assisted with the case,” District Attorney Thomas Walsh said.
“We will now move forward with the prosecution phase of the case.”
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