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. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: 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 in any way? >> she was trying to blackmail me in every way. she would look at me and she would say, listen, i have 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 and i'm going to expose you for everything and try to put you in jail. >> reporter: remember, ira recorded susan threatening him. >> don't bother coming b