three or four times. >> reporter: the judge sentenced dalia to 16 years in state prison. a month later she was back in court again. lawyers are doing the trial was not valid because the testimony about dalia trying to poison husband should never have been allowed. by now she was caught. perhaps her last hope for freedom came in a petition to the supreme court of the united states. that her case was denied. and so the real housewife of britain beach he became a worldwide reality tv sensation is now simply florida inmate. fle i'm andrea canning. is now simply florida inmate w 42222. yes, really. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning. thanks for watching. ng. thanks for watching. ack ops. hello.

i'm andrea canning and this is dateline. >> he'd already told me the guys were flying up from florida. the black ops. at that point it got a little scary. they're here to do a job and they're going to kill someone. this is crazy. >> in a marriage, three is a crowd. >> you're seeing another woman. >> right. >> what do you think it was? >> chemistry. >> and chemistry can be explosive. >> this is now the marriage from hell. >> enter the hitman. >> here's a name. i'm going to bring you pictures of the person we want to have kills. >> you now feared for your own life. >> yes. >> a hit that couldn't miss? >> you're the boss at this point. >> or a surprise to die for. >> what's this little thing -- >> actually notices a camera inside the car. >> this was a big moment. >> huge moment. everything took off real fast.

>> no fairy tale ending for this love story. it would end either in murder or prison. >> he said my guys don't back down from a plan. hello and welcome to dateline. when ira bernstein and susan met on their college campus, they couldn't know the future they'd become college sweet hearts, married, start a family. jealousy. they certainly could never have imagined that the life they would build over the years would be torn apart by a murderous scheme. here is "the target." in this quiet wealthy neighborhood behind the gates of this lavish estate, a fuse was lit. newfound money led to an explosive fight, torrid affairs, deadly secrets. >> one car will hit her. >> and a wicked plot that

disturbed even seasoned detectives. >> someone approached him to be hired as a hitman. >> a scheme with a twist. >> this is where this whole story goes a little bit hollywood. >> yeah, literally. >> the starring characters an unhappy housewife. >> don't you worry. you are done. >> a luxury car salesman. >> only thing i could ask is why. >> a former mortician and aspiring model. >> it was horrible. >> and the doctor. >> we were both scared. we didn't know what to do. >> our story begins in rockland county, new york. about an hours drive north of new york city. the home of dr. ira bernstein. a well respected podiatrist. >> why someone chooses feet as a doctor. >> feet are extremely important, yes. >> he took us back to where it all began. penn state university. where he first met his future wife susan. here they are smiling from the pages of their college

yearbook. it was the mid90s when the couple bumped into each other. >> she was just so caring and passionate. she was supportive of me. she was there when i had to study long hours. >> sounds like a great relationship. >> it was. >> after college, susan worked toward her masters and eventually her doctorate in education and ira went to podiatry school. >> some of my fondest memories of being in med school was spending time with susan. it was great. we went to dinner for $20 and we were both grateful. >> not a lot of money. >> we had no money. >> a few years after that, in 2002, they got married. >> and when you both said your i do's did you feel like it was right? >> i did. >> the couple decided to move back to rockland county near ira's hometown and it wasn't long before he and susan were raising three children. ira says he worked day and night and it quickly paid off. he opened multiple foot surgery centers and also invested in

real estate. the couple was grateful for their good fortune. >> my house was 13,000 square feet on 14 acres of land and we had tennis courts, a pool, a pool house, a lake, a dock, boats. >> did you have other houses? >> i had about 20 different buildings and houses that i would rent out. >> but ira soon realized all that money came with problems. even with his success, he says he was struggling to keep up with the cost of their extravagant lifestyle. susan had developed quite the appetite for the finer things. >> i over extended myself and her spending started amplifying to the point where $40,000 a month on her credit cards was standard operating procedure. >> what was she buying? >> vacations she would plan. clothes. jewelry. >> the way ira saw it, he was the one doing all the working while susan a stay at home mom with a live in nanny was doing most of the playing.

>> so her days were filled with lunch dates with friends. spa appointments. she started book clubs and cooking clubs. she would be out literally about four nights a week. >> ira claims he was lonely and resentful. >> you and susan hit a major bump in your marriage when she discovers you're seeing another woman. >> right. >> he says susan discovered the affair from messages she found on his computer. but instead of filing for divorce, they planned to stay together with unorthodox rules. >> we decided to have an open marriage and she could start dating people. >> he says it was an attempt at saving a marriage in shambles and he thought the open marriage was working. but apparently his wife didn't. three months after their new arrangement ira says he was shocked when police came knock on his door. susan had filed a restraining order. >> the sheriff gives me 20 minutes to pack my stuff,

whatever i can grab. i am escorted out of my house. i wind up in my parent's house living in my old high school bedroom. >> ira says susan claimed he was physically and verbally abusive. ira says not true. >> i am the least abusive person in the world. i don't even discipline my children. they walk all over me like i'm a teddy bear. >> susan withdrew the restraining order and wanted to reconcile. he agreed to try but soon enough he says the fighting flared up again. and that's when a beautiful former patient reached out to him. >> she was calling me to say she'd like to meet with me. >> her name was kelly gribeluk. a woman with an eclectic career. a former mortician now in the business of selling or nottics for chews. kelly asked him to be part of

her company. he agreed and their professional relationship quickly turned personal. >> she completely understood me. i found someone that got me and she's got a sexy look to her. >> were you physically attracted to him as well? >> of course. >> what do you think it was? >> chemistry. >> kelly was a mother of three young boys who had gone through a traumatic divorce that left her family in tatters. something ira could relate to. >> he started opening up to me about his separation and we had shared some intimate things and that we were going through very similar things. >> but as much as she cared for ira, she says she felt it was more important he give his marriage another shot. >> i wanted them to do what was best for their family so i really truly loved him. i thought whatever would make him happy is what i wanted for him. >> she says she stopped seeing ira and even met with susan so tell her she had bowed out. >> at end of the conversation she said to me if it doesn't work between me and ira i want

to see him end one you. >> just a few months later ira ran back to kelly. the reconciliation with susan wasn't going well. nobody was happy. >> you're off with your girlfriend in the bahamas. i have to call your dad, your office manager. >> ira started recording susan claiming her anger was escalating into threats and it was taking a big toll on him. >> he was having panic attacks. couldn't sleep at night. nightmares. >> what's that doing to you watching the man you love go through that? >> it's devastating. >> someone in this heated it love triangle was getting desperate. coming up. a crowded marriage may soon be a little less cramped. >> she brought me a picture in a zip lock bag. >> a picture of the target? >> along with a phone number. >> someone's planning a hit. and it's all caught on hidden

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in early april 2016, as the love triangle between the podiatrist, his estranged wife, and his new girlfriend reached a slow burn, a new character entered the scene-- a luxury car salesman. in early april 2016, as the love triangle between the podiatrist, his estranged wife and his new girlfriend reached a slow burn, a new character entered the scene. a luxury car salesman. he says he got an unexpected visit from a former customer.

she came into his office and asked the unthinkable. she wanted someone murdered. >> did she look like the kind of woman who would be coming in to hire a hitman? >> no way. not a million years i wouldn't think that. >> his name is marckensy. a father of four who'd been selling cars for more than 16 years. >> marckensy thinks she came to him because of an earlier conversation he had when he offered to help her with her marital problems. >> if you need any help, any kind of situation we know a few people that could help you out. meaning that i have a friend of mine in the police station nearby. i always call for any reason whatsoever. >> do you think she took what you told her the wrong way? >> i think she did. she believed i would harm the guy. >> but he says he's no hit man. the woman was just hearing what she wanted to hear. >> she sound like she was so

desperate to get this done i think any little affirmation she would force herself to believe it. >> he played along, trying to see if she was serious. >> i told her that not something that i do but i could potentially get her in touch with the people that could possibly do. >> did you have any background in law enforcement? >> no. >> you're just a regular guy. >> regular guy who hangs out with cops. pick up a few things here and there. >> his unofficial police training kicked in. to make his story more believable he got specific about the men he would use to do the hit. >> these guys are like top black ops. >> was she interested? >> she was. >> after she left, marckensy texted his friend on the force but got no response. in the mean time, to keep her on the hook he had arranged a second meeting. you can see them together on this gas station security footage. >> she brought me a picture in a bag. >> a picture of the target? >> along with a phone number

for the target. now i come to realize that do have something that is potentially serious in my hand and i don't know exactly which way to go. >> finally his cop friend called him back and directed him to ramapo new york police. robert and peter were the detectives assigned to the case. >> the thing we needed to do was to get marckensy's cooperation. >> since the woman trusted marckensy, detectives wanted him to keep playing the role of the bad guy. he didn't hesitate. that's got to be daunting. >> it was kind of cool in a way, you know, that's like 007 type thing. >> detectives devised a plan. they rigged his car with cameras and audio recording devices. >> the microphone was hanging here. under my seat here had a phone. >> they asked marckensy to set up another meeting. the location? this large walmart parking lot

directly across the street from the police station. >> we can literally see the police department. >> you can throw a rock and hit the police station. >> marckensy the newly minted informant alerted police the meeting was set. a team of detectives raced to the parking lot to get in position. >> it's an intense moment. we know the case is just starting and she actually gets out of her car and gets into that car we're like this is fantastic. >> as she got into marckensy's car, detectives could watch and listen to every word in real time. >> it can't be a robbery. it can't be anything like that. >> it didn't take long before she started talking money. how much to have the target murdered. >> should we say two? >> 200,000? >> okay. >> when can we get that deposit? >> the next day detectives were watching when the woman met with marckensy again. this time she suggested how the target should be kills. >> what about like a hit and run? like she's getting out of a car

or plain accident. somebody backed up into her. it it was plain an accident. no investigation. >> over the course of two meetings the woman managed to negotiate the price down to $100,000. >> so you'll do it for a hundred? >> agreed to pay a $2000 deposit and then asked about his refund policy. >> by the way, the deposit's refundable? >> who was the woman? well, you already met her. yep, it was ira's girlfriend kelly gribeluk and her target? >> susan bernstein. >> ira's wife. apparently his girlfriend had cooked up a cold-blooded plan to end his marriage problems for good. but detectives fitzgerald and luzan didn't think kelly was working alone. >> we're thinking of another scenario. >> they asked marckensy to push kelly for a meeting with her partner and she agreed it was a

good idea. >> yeah. we did. >> then it happened. later that night they both showed up. >> who was kelly's partner in crime and how far will they go to get the deed done? coming up. >> i think one this is done, he'll feel more comfortable to move ahead right away. >> together they have a new job for the hitman. >> this is a huge moment in our case. >> this is where this whole story goes hollywood. >> literally. od. >> literally. 7 and maintained it. a1c r i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away

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as ramapo detectives continued to investigate the plot

to kill susan bernstein, they became convinced that kelly gribeluk was not acting alone, that someone else was the mastermind. maybe as a hit and run. andrea canning (voiceover): investigators as abramapo detectives continued to investigate the plot to kill susan bernstein, they became convinced that kelly gribeluk was not acting alone. that someone else was the master mind. >> maybe it was a hit and run. >> investigators had their suspicions about who that was but they needed proof and less than a week later they got it at the parking lot across the street from the police station, detectives were in their unmarked cars waiting. >> all of a sudden i think he's pulling in. >> he finally showed. >> who was the other person? >> that was ira bernstein. >> this was a man all the detectives knew well. >> he's your police foot surgeon. >> yes. >> is that blowing your mind that it's ira? >> one of the funny things is we were both patients of his. now we had to be concerned is he going to recognize us when

we're doing these surveillances. >> rockland county da was on the case from the beginning. >> ira got in the car with the informant. >> hey, how are you? >> and started talking to him about how he wanted his wife killed. >> yeah. we're thinking asap. >> the less r you two know, the better. >> i agree. >> it was a game changer. >> wasn't that enough to arrest him right then and there? >> no money had been exchanged. in new york you do need an overt act and we had some stuff but we did not want to jump the gun on this. >> how are you? >> they arranged another meeting. where ira would show again. he didn't. but something big happened. kelly finally handed over money for the hit. >> so how much we talking right now? >> two. >> $2000 deposit. >> nice doing business with you. >> nothing until we give you the go ahead. he said just be on standby. >> as detectives waited for ira

and kelly to give the go ahead, this me lo drama took a new turn. kelly added two targets. >> kelly shows up to one of the meetings and says he hasn't committed yet but he wants you to take care of two insurance investigators. >> kelly didn't ask for them to be killed but to be beaten up. detectives believe this new job was a way to test marckensy to see if he was the real deal. >> kelly asked him are you a police officer. >> you're sure you're not involved with the police; right? >> we believe they don't think someone working with the police would actually have two innocent people just doing their job beat up. >> and they were willing to pay quickly to get it done. kelly handed marckensy a brown bag filled with cash. $2500. half of the $5000 fee. >> he wants to make sure they're out of commission for a long time. any possibility it can be done this week or not? >> detective luzan reached out to the insurance investigators

and quickly discovered why they were the selected targets. >> i called them said listen i want to speak to you in person. i didn't want to tell them over the phone. we're coming to rockland anyway because we have an investigation into ira bernstein. >> they were investigating ira for insurance fraud. suspecting he'd been illegally padding his insurance claims. >> how did these investigators feel when you told them there's this plot out to have you beaten up? >> they couldn't believe it. they were shocked. then they were very concerned. >> the detective asked the investigators for their help. >> this is where this whole story goes a little hollywood. >> yeah. literally. >> would the investigators be willing to be actor the for the day. a theatrical plant was in the works. >> this might sound crazy. maybe we can get a makeup artist make it look look they were beat up. >> how did they react to this? >> i think one of them was like i got to talk to my wife first. they agreed. >> police set up in this parking lot where they had a few of their undercover guys

pretend to throw some punches. >> we took a lot of pictures. beating them up. we had to tell the investigators don't overdo it. just fight back a little bit. this is a huge moment in our case. if they believe this ruse about the beating up of the investigators then we can probably get to the big thing where he's trying to kill susan. >> i think once this is done he'll feel more comfortable moving ahead right away. >> the pressure was now on the car salesman. he texted kelly to meet them in their usual spot. he had three photos tucked inside a newspaper ready to show her. >> we had coached him ahead of time. she's probably going to say i want to take these pictures to ira. we want ira to come out. we need to get him to commit. no matter what happens, you make sure pictures stay with you. >> everyone was in place waiting. kelly was late. then finally she showed. >> i am so sorry. you don't understand. i've been all over the freaking world today. >> with his heart pounding,

marckensy showed her the photos. >> those are the two guys. >> so he wants to make sure they're not going to be coming to work with a broken leg next week. >> no. >> they're done. what'd they do to them? >> less you know the better. >> she seemed satisfied and just as the detectives predicted kelly asked to take the photos to show ira. >> i thought you were gonna give me pictures too. >> come on. that's better for you. not to have them. better for not to have them. >> they got both guys? >> oh yes. >> the salesman followed the detectives instructions perfectly. he came up with an idea all on his own. he knew law enforcement wanted ira so he told kelly to call him. >> hello? >> hi. how are you? >> hi, doc. i can show them to her, but i don't want to give it to her. obviously. >> right. >> he suggested to ira he could swing by his office to show the doctor the photos in person. >> we'll come to the office to

the parking lot? >> would that be a good idea? >> you're the boss at this point, you know. >> okay. listen all right. why don't you come over here. i'll try to run outside for a minute. >> okay. all right. okay, bye. >> it sounded like the perfect plan but is there really ever such a thing? coming up. >> what's up? >> there are a few concerns. >> huh? >> red flags. >> did the sting just get stung? >> what's that little thing between the seats? >> are you on the edge of your seats when he's pointing to that camera? >> this is it. we're done. >> when dateline continues. ne but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups. and with one dose a day, trelegy improves lung function

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ryan t. writes, "moving is stressful. ask your provider for cologuard. can you help me take one thing off of my to do list?” ugh, moving's the worst. with xfinity, you can transfer your internet in just a few taps. just a few easy moves. did somebody say “easy moves”? ♪ ♪ oh no. no, i was talking about moving your internet. this will move the internet. ♪ ♪ ooh, ooh. -let's keep it professional. professional dancers! -ok! stay connected during your move with the best in home wifi. easily transfer your services in the xfinity app. bring on the good stuff. hi, a news update. former new york representative george santos is expected to plead guilty monday to multiple charges related to campaign finance fraud. this news comes less than a month from when his trial was set to begin. santos had previously pleaded

not guilty to all charges. security forces exchange gunfire with a shooter after the individual opened fire at the gate of a san antonio air force base. the shooter fired at military members at an entrance at joint base san antonio lackland. no injuries were reported. for now back to dateline. datel jeopardized by his estranged wife susan, who he believed was out to ruin him. welcome back to dateline. i'm andrea canning. ira bernstein and kelly gribeluk were in love but ira was afraid their promising future could be jeopardized business his estranged wife susan, who he believed was out to ruin him. a murder for hire plan was hatched with a catch. the hitman was secretly working with police. but now it looked like the undercover sting operation might be blown. was ira on to them? here is the target. the investigation had entered its third week.

ira had agreed to meet marckensy the informant outside of his medical practice. here are ira and kelly walking towards his car. >> doctor comes out of his office. he's in his scrubs. goes into the car. >> okay. how's it going? >> how are you? >> marckensy showed ira the photos of the insurance investigators looking like they were being roughed up. ira immediately seems suspicious. >> they just happened to be standing right next to each other? >> i guess they were on a break or something. >> and he's like why are they wearing baseball cap and you know regular jacket? i said i don't know. >> you're really having to think on your feet. >> uh-huh. >> one thing -- >> so marckensy started talking about keeping the photos. >> i don't want to give them to you -- >> i don't need them. >> as long as it's done, don't correctly. >> yeah. exactly. no, no, no. >> at this point ira seems

satisfied. >> okay, good, good. we're like it's a big relief. >> remember, he thinks they're fake now he's really going to think something's up here. >> detectives had coached marckensy on what to do after he showed ira the pictures of. >> ask him what's going on with the wife or give him a deadline. it has to be it by this time or we're walking away. it has to be his decision. >> so now the big question is, when is the next job? >> give me a week to think about it. all right? and then i'll give you the go ahead. >> i don't want to be too pushy. i give you by this weekend. >> i'm going to be away for the weekend. at the end of the weekend i'll tell you. >> the good doctor said what law enforcement was waiting to hear. >> so if i tell her, she gives you the okay it came from me. >> to detectives ears ira was admitting he was the one pulling the strings, not kelly. it was a critical moment but just as they were ready to high five each other, ira turned

around and pointed to something in the backseat. >> he was looking directly at the hidden camera. >> are you on the edge of your seats when he's pointing to that camera? >> yeah. this is it. we're done. but marckensy does a great job. he leans back and goes that's something for the kids games are they plug into it. >> the receiver for the headsets. >> that's the receiver for the headsets. >> all right. all right. >> crisis averted. then without skipping a beat, ira moved on to the details of how susan should be killed. they agreed she would be hit by a car. >> snow and ice and clean. no problems. very smooth. >> very smooth. yeah, no worries. nothing. nothing's going to get back to you. >> okay. >> all right. >> detectives waited five more days. finally kelly contacted marckensy.

>> she calls. let's have another talk. this is going to be answer. it's going to be yes or no. she shows up again in the walmart parking lot. this time she doesn't get in the car. >> detectives were worried since ira had spotted their hidden camera and might have warned kelly to stay out of the car. >> is that game over? >> no. we have audio on marckensy himself. >> what's up? >> there are a few concerns. >> huh? >> red flags. >> why? >> kelly said ira had been checking up on the insurance investigators to make sure they had actually been beaten up. >> he called the hospitals and they're not in any hospital up there. >> okay. so what do you want me to do? >> you have to understand. he's a little worried. >> so now he's paranoid about what now? the guys didn't get beat up? >> no, that maybe, you know, is this like a setup or something? >> come on now. >> despite all of her reservations, kelly finally gave an answer about the hit on

susan bernstein. >> okay. so the answer is this. >> we don't hear any answer. she's holding up a phone. she had typed the word yes inside the phone so she wasn't verbally going to say it. >> but it didn't matter. detectives now had confirmation ira and kelly were in and the date was set. they believed susan would be run over four days later on thursday, may 5th. cinco d e mayo. the prosecutor was satisfied they had enough to arrest them. >> once kelly says yes and agrees to give him money the investigation for the most part is complete. >> the police made plans for kelly's arrest at the walmart parking lot. >> how did this go down? like a s.w.a.t. situation? just a couple of officers? >> there were several officers in plain clothes surrounding the area but it was just two officers who approached her. >> she was shocked. >> she was shocked. i went to the door and i said i believe you know what this is going to be about. >> when they brought kelly into

the police station there was another staged hollywood moment. they had handcuffed marckensy and put him in a holding room. >> she saw him in there. i saw her eyes meet his eyes. now she knows the supposed hitman's arrested. >> do you have any weapons? >> they were hoping she would point the finger at ira but it didn't work out that way. >> be honest with us. was that your money or was it ira's money? >> please don't make me answer that. >> i know you love him. i understand that. kelly, do yourself a favor, okay? just be honest. is that bad to be honest? >> i'll be honest. i love him. >> a few hours later on his way home from dinner in the city, ira was pulled over near his house and arrested. >> he was so nervous he was shaking. he was saying my life is over. my life is over. i think he said i should kill myself at that point. >> a little later on. i'll never practice again. >> ira and kelly were charged with conspiracy and

solicitation to commit murder. you heard law enforcement's side of the story but the couple has a very different version. the would-be killers say the tale of the tapes it has a major gap because they were victims too. coming up. >> things had reached a horrible point. she was trying to blackmail me in every way. >> i saw someone that i loved being hurt and it was not going to come to an end. >> he made it very clear we were going to be fed to the alligators if we didn't go through with this. >> when dateline continues. lin i got rapid relief with rinvoq. check. when flares tried to slow me down, i got lasting steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when my doctor saw damage, rinvoq helped visibly reduce damage of the intestinal lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and visibly reduced damage. check, check and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb.

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is there any way anyone can hit her and then stay ira anbernstein a respected doctor and his girlfriend kelly gribeluk had been caught on hidden camera planning the murder of ira's wife. >> is there any way anyone can hit her and say it was an accident? >> but they say the video doesn't tell the whole story. >> did you want susan bernstein dead? >> in the beginning, yes. but at the end, no. >> there was no way in hell i was ever going to go through with this and hurt susan. >> while out on bail, ira and kelly agreed to sit down with dateline. they shared with us how this whole murder for hire plot got started. for ira it was out of desperation. >> things had reached a horrible point. >> ira had a secret. he'd been stealing from an insurance company, overbilling for medical services and he says his wife susan knew it. >> did you feel like susan was trying to blackmail you? >> she was trying to blackmail

me in every way. she would look at me and say i've broken into your e-mails. i have printed out and recorded all of your business dealings and i'm telling you now if you don't give me everything i want i'm going to the prosecutor i'm going tex pose you for everything and try to put you in jail. >> ira recorded susan threatening him. >> don't bother coming back. you're going to -- [ bleep ] -- >> ira claims susan was using that information to pressure him into signing a post nuptial aagreement that stated in they divorced he would give her most of his assets. fearing susan would make good on her threats he signed it. >> only a moron would have signed this post nuptial agreement if they weren't under distress. >> you're the moron in this story? >> i'm the moron. >> this is ira's version of what happened. susan and her lawyer never responded to our repeated request to hear her side. ira says it was during this volatile time that kelly came

up with the idea of hiring a hitman. >> kelly did this on her own. >> i had a conversation with her about it. there was nothing legitimate to it. >> what's hard is that a respected doctor was capable of even going down this road. >> i don't understand it either. that was not me. that was a different person. >> you both actually crossed over from just thinking about it to doing something about it. >> unfortunately we did. and i was the one who put it into motion. >> did you worry about those kids not having their mom? >> i did. >> but it didn't stop you. >> no. >> why was this more important than those kids having their mom? >> because i saw someone that i loved being hurt and it it was not going to come to an end. she was never going to stop. >> did you both imagine life without susan? >> of course. >> what was that life without her around?

>> peaceful. >> despite her fantasy of a peaceful life with susan out of the picture, ira and kelly claim they had second thoughts. but there was a problem. >> did you say to marckensy we don't want to do this? >> yeah, i told him. >> what'd he say? >> he said there's no backing out. >> in an impromptu meeting where there were no police recordings kelly claims marckensy told her a terrifying story about another client of his who wanted out. >> he explained to me that he has to pick up a girl and bring her to the men and they're going to be feeding her to alligators. >> did you take that as they could feed us to the alligators? >> absolutely. >> he made it very clear that we were going to be fed to the alligators if we didn't go through with this. >> you did have another option, you could have just paid the money and walked away. >> we thought about that. it was $100,000 at that point. i don't think they would have

went away. we both came to the same conclusion. >> isn't it easier to just not kill someone and walk away and take the money? >> yes. at the time we didn't feel that was an option. we didn't feel they were going to stop. >> despite their fears, she and ira had decided to back out anyway. >> we both came to our senses. this is crazy. we're not doing this. >> i think people are going to have a hard time believing that you really didn't want to go through after everything you had done to set the plan in motion. >> if we really wanted to do this he would have been paid. >> coming up with $100,000 for me would have been a piece of cake. if i wanted it done, it could have been done. >> ira did though admit to paying to have those insurance investigators beat up. >> i made the biggest wrong decision of my life which was to put the welfare of myself above the welfare of those

investigators. >> what you wow say to them? >> i don't know what i could say to them. >> did you think you were part after sting operation? >> i was hoping it was a sting operation. i wanted to get out of this so badly. >> why should people believe you? yeah, he's trying to change his story now because he got caught. >> anyone that knows me knows i'm not a violent person. and i really believe that susan knows me for 23 years and even she knows there is no way i would have ever let this happen. >> the prosecutor thought ira was lying and to prove it he wanted kelly's help. she refused to cooperate. at least when they were first arrested. then a potential crack in their relationship. ira had gotten out of jail in four days while kelly four months later was still behind

bars. >> why didn't ira bail her out? >> i guess you'd have to ask him. she might have the same question. >> this was the chance to pounce. he knew kelly was angry and hoped she would finally agree to roll on ira so he offered her a plea deal. in exchange for testifying against ira, she would get 12 years in prison with a chance for parole in four. her attorney jonathan rips explains why she took the deal. >> if she were convicted after trial i'm fairly confident the judge would give her close to the max which would be 8 and a third to 25 years and that's a long time. >> with the plea in place, kelly was all set to be the prosecution's star witness against ira. but in this twisted tale of greed and lies, could anyone be trusted? coming up. answering for the past. >> what i did was wrong. >> and thinking about the future. >> some people call this a twisted love story. >> i think it's true love.

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here is the conclusion of the target. as the case headed towards trial, it looked like the estranged lovers would point fingers at each other. kelly was now cooperating with the prosecution and ira's defense? to throw his girlfriend under the bus. he claimed he never gave the go ahead to have his wife murdered and says that was all kelly. >> she came home on that evening and she told me she had to tell him yes. >> she went rogue on your, you're saying? >> pretty much. >> rockland county prosecutor wasn't buying it. says the evidence told the real story. >> when you look at the meetings and you listen to them, kelly couldn't make one decision. ira was the one calling the shots. was she the conduit? sure. but in the end ira had a goal. >> this was all about money in your eyes? >> yes. >> he believes ira had no

intention of honoring that post nuptial agreement where he consented to give susan most of their assets if they divorced. >> ira bernstein wanted to keep everything that he work sod hard for and he was going to do what he had to do, whether it be have the insurance investigators beat up or having his wife killed. >> the corner stone really of the defense's case is that ira tried to call it off at the end. there were threats if you don't go through with this, harm could come to you. >> that's simply not the case. in fact, after they claimed they were subject to that they hire him to do the other job to beat up the two men. >> he says nowhere on the tapes or in text messages did ira and kelly say they changed their minds about killing susan. >> even if they did change their mind they never called the police to tell the police hey there's a hitman hired to kill susan. they never called susan to say

watch out. they did nothing. >> and there was another indicator ira and kelly planned to go through with the murder. >> on the day that kelly told the informant yes, she called and made dinner reservations for the entire doctor's office for may 5th. and that was the day that susan was going to be run over. >> may i help you? >> hi, i made reservations last night and i wasn't sure if i told you 7:30 or 8:00. >> it's an alibi. kelly and ira wanted everybody from work to see they were with them acting normal when susan got killed. >> as the trial date drew closer, feeling pretty good about his case and his star witness. but there was a hitch. after kelly got out of jail instead of rolling on ira, she moved in with him. >> kelly seems like she has this fierce loyalty to ira. >> she certainly does. >> kelly was now too much of a wild card so instead of going to trial the prosecutor offered

ira a deal. 15 years in prison eligible for parole in five. >> there was a real defense here. >> ira's attorney jeff millman says even though he believed ira had a strong defense, he knew going before a jury could be a gamble. >> here you have two people who have been talking about planning a murder and then you're supposed to take their word for it they were trying to call it off. >> that's one of the obstacles of trial. absolutely. >> there were ira's other charges. insurance fraud and ordering the assault on those investigators. so he accepted the deal and pleaded guilty to grand larceny and conspiracy involving the plot to kill his wife. >> we resolved everything with the plea. all financial investigations, all crimes, alleged to have been committed. >> as for his estranged wife susan? the intended target? she didn't find out about the plot until after ira was arrested. >> she wasn't surprised. >> susan had the opportunity to say her piece at ira's

sentencing. she requested not to be on camera. >> ira is evil and cold hearted and a narcissist. the only remorse ira has is that the murder did not occur. he is the scariest type of criminal. smart with no remorse. >> but ira says he is remorseful for all the pain he's caused his family, especially his children. >> i love my children very much. what i did is wrong. i will spend every day for the rest of my life making it up to them. >> both ira and kelly served less than five years and were paroled in 2021. but if you think that was the end of the story, think again. one year after his release, ira allegedly tried to arrange another hit on susan. he was charged with criminal

solicitation and conspiracy. his sister was accused of helping him cover up the alleged plot. both pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial. >> some people call this a twisted love story. >> i think it's true love. >> that's what kelly said before she went to prison. but true love didn't last. in 2023 kelly's attorney told us his client wants nothing to do with her former lover ira. as for marckensy the car salesman who played the role of a life time in the investigation targeting kelly and ira. he says the good guys one. >> the detectives and prosecutors say you're the hero in this. do you feel that? >> not at all. not for like, you know, that was the right thing to do. being a hero, no, they are the hero. the one out there every day. th. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning, thanks for watching.