Former doctor charged over alleged second plot to have wife murdered

Ira Bernstein was first jailed for offering a car salesman $100,000 in 2015 to kill Susan Bernstein

Ira Bernstein (Ramapo Police Department)

A former New York doctor who served nearly five years in prison for conspiring to murder his wife has been arrested for allegedly plotting for a second time to have her killed.

Ira Bernstein, 49, and his then-girlfriend were jailed after offering a car salesman $100,000 in 2015 to kill Susan Bernstein.

The salesman reported the attempt to police and after Bernstein pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy and other charges he was sentenced in 2017 to between five and 15 years in prison.

Kelly Gribeluk also admitted her role in the assassination plot and was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. She was released in May 2021, while Bernstein, who has had his podiatry licence revoked, was released in July 2021.

Now prosecutors have indicted Bernstein again on felony charges for allegedly soliciting “the murder of his wife Susan Bernstein and subsequently conspired to destroy evidence of the solicitation with his sister, Jaclyn Goldberg,” reported lohud.com.

Ms Goldberg, an attorney in Rockland County, New York, has also been indicted on felony counts, according to the Rockland District Attorney’s Office.

Bernstein could face a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

“As alleged, the defendant solicited to have his wife killed,” said Mr Walsh 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. We will now move forward with the prosecution phase of the case.”