At 9 p. m. ET on Friday, March 13, a familiar kind of television spotlight lands on a case that never really left Rockland County: ira bernstein, a wealthy New York podiatrist, and a murder-for-hire plot that prosecutors and a local district attorney’s office have said unfolded not once, but twice—years apart.
The episode, titled “Take Two” and Andrea Canning, is set to air on NBC’s “Dateline. ” It revisits the case involving Ira Bernstein and his girlfriend, Kelly Gribeluk, who were accused of plotting to hire a hit man to kill Bernstein’s wife, Susan Bernstein. Authorities said they were arrested after the would-be assassin alerted police, and hidden cameras captured the deal that led to guilty pleas and prison time.
What is “Dateline: Take Two” revisiting about Ira Bernstein?
The broadcast centers on a Rockland County murder-for-hire plot that has drawn attention locally for years. In the first case, Ramapo police arrested Ira Bernstein in 2016 and charged him with conspiring to murder his wife. He pleaded guilty in 2017 and was sentenced to between five and 15 years in state prison, later being released in 2021. Kelly Gribeluk also entered a guilty plea and received a prison sentence.
In announcing the episode, the network said the broadcast includes “a shocking new chapter” after their release, alleging that one of them attempted to revive the murder plot once again. The program is expected to include interviews with both Ira Bernstein and Kelly Gribeluk, along with police detectives who worked on the case and witnesses.
What do prosecutors and the district attorney’s office say happened next?
The Rockland County District Attorney’s office has said there were two murder plots dating years apart. Prosecutors have said the second plot happened in 2022, with allegations that Bernstein again sought to hire someone to kill Susan Bernstein.
In the most recent court outcome described by the Rockland County District Attorney’s office, Ira Bernstein—now 51, of Montebello—was sentenced to up to three years in state prison for tampering with physical evidence. He entered a guilty plea last summer. Prosecutors said the evidence-tampering charge stemmed from his efforts to prevent an audio recording of the alleged plot from being used against him.
How did the courtroom sound when Susan Bernstein spoke?
In court ahead of Bernstein’s Friday sentencing, Susan Bernstein told the court she believed her former spouse “did not learn a single thing” from his earlier prison stint. She also warned that “the possibility of yet another murder attempt is not speculative, ” speaking in the same hearing tied to the evidence-tampering sentence.
Bernstein rejected the allegations connected to the second alleged plot. “I never asked or solicited him to hurt you in any way, ” he said in reference to a landscaper discussed in court. “I never wanted to have you harmed and I said no to him, ” he added.
Judge Robert Prisco challenged the defense’s position that the landscaper initiated the conversation, questioning why Bernstein did not go to authorities about the phone call. Prisco said, “I’m not talking about turning himself in, ” before imposing a sentence described in court as one-and-a-half years to three years.
What message did the Rockland County District Attorney stress?
Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh framed the prison term as a broader statement about abuse and accountability. He said he hoped the sentence “sends a message loud and clear … that domestic violence in any form, physical, psychological, legal, or otherwise, will not be tolerated. ” Walsh added: “It must be stopped and we are glad that the defendant Ira Bernstein was held accountable today for his actions. ”
The court filings and statements described in this case also touched on another family member. Ira Bernstein’s sister, Jaclyn Goldberg, was originally charged with conspiring to help him destroy the tape connected to the alleged recording. Prosecutors said her case was expected to be an adjournment contemplating dismissal.
What happens when a criminal case becomes a national broadcast?
True-crime television often promises clarity: a timeline, a turning point, a verdict. But the details laid out by prosecutors and the court show a messier reality—one where a “new chapter” is not an artistic device, but an allegation that the danger returned after prison and release.
For viewers, “Take Two” may be a contained hour of television. For the people named in court—Susan Bernstein, Ira Bernstein, and those pulled into the case as witnesses and investigators—the act of retelling can reopen what has already been litigated, argued, and, for some, lived through in private.
On Friday night, the episode’s title hangs in the air like a warning: not a sequel, but a question about recurrence—and whether the systems meant to stop violence can keep pace when a case refuses to stay in the past.
