but only a few select celebrities have had to employ this guy, ira judelson, the guy no celebrity is. a bail bondsman to the stars. >> i do a job that requires people to come to me. and they're so scared and they're shaken up, and they can hardly think. >> reporter: ira says that like ja rule's hit song, on time, he was on time for ja rule when he needed bail. >> i become a counselor or priest, and then i come in and fix their problem. >> reporter: from plaxico burress, to the infamous dominique strauss-kahn, bail bondsmen like ira make money by charging a fee to cover the bail set by a judge. but if someone skips town, ira is on the hook to the court for the entire amount. so he sits somewhere between an insurance agent, legal loan shark and a bank. so are you a bank? >> in the nicest term i am a bank, and i take collateral to support whatever i do to ensure the court that they're coming back. >> reporter: he takes us to his new york city office where he is pleased to show off his work, plastering his walls with the biggest headlines from his clients' cases. >> some might call it a