Jaclyn Goldberg Case: Murder-for-Hire Plot, Conviction, and Lawsuit

The Jaclyn Goldberg case refers to the June 2023 Rockland County indictment of a New York attorney accused of helping her brother, podiatrist Ira Bernstein, get rid of an audio recording that captured him soliciting the murder of his estranged wife. Goldberg, a member of the White Plains law firm Keane & Beane P.C., was charged with tampering with physical evidence, third-degree hindering prosecution, and fifth-degree conspiracy. In August 2025, the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office agreed to resolve her case with an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, meaning the charges would be dropped in full if she stayed out of legal trouble for six months.¹

What Goldberg Is Alleged to Have Done

The conduct at the heart of the indictment took place in the summer of 2022. An audio recording had captured Ira Bernstein discussing a solicitation to have his estranged wife, Susan Bernstein, killed. The other voice on the recording belonged to Antonio Matias, a Haverstraw landscaper who was locked in a civil dispute with Bernstein’s father, Albert Bernstein, over the breakup of a landscaping company called Dreamscapes of Rockland Inc.²

According to the grand jury indictment, Goldberg acted as the go-between. On August 4, 2022, she met Matias in the parking lot of a New City restaurant called Fire and Cork, where she listened to the tape. The proposal she brought, prosecutors said, was that if Matias destroyed the recording and confirmed no copies remained, the Bernstein family would hand control of Dreamscapes back to him.²

Two days later, according to the indictment, Goldberg followed up in writing: “Good Morning, I’ll ask about the Jobber account, but it’s important to know that if he signs over the business, are you willing to do what you said earlier and get rid of the recording?” She then pressed Matias on how they could be sure every copy had been destroyed.² The alleged conduct continued through September 21, 2022.³

Why the Recording Mattered

The reason a landscaper’s tape carried such weight is that Ira Bernstein had been down this road before. In 2016 he was arrested for conspiring with his then-girlfriend Kelly Gribeluk to hire a car salesman to run Susan Bernstein over and make it look like an accident, at a price of $100,000. Bernstein pleaded guilty in 2017 and was sentenced to five to fifteen years in state prison, along with a ten-year order of protection covering Susan Bernstein.⁴ He was released on merit in July 2021, four years into that sentence.⁵ Roughly a year later, prosecutors say, he was recorded soliciting a second killing.

The Charges Against Her

The Town of Ramapo Police Department and the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office investigated, and a grand jury returned a sealed indictment. Goldberg, then 40 and living in Bedford, was arraigned on June 1, 2023, before Judge Robert J. Prisco on one count of tampering with physical evidence (a Class E felony), one count of hindering prosecution in the third degree, and one count of conspiracy in the fifth degree.³⁶ She pleaded not guilty and was released without bail.⁷

How the Criminal Case Ended

In August 2025, the District Attorney’s Office announced that Goldberg would receive an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. Under the terms, she faced no incarceration, and the charges would be dismissed outright provided she committed no new offenses for six months. She was scheduled to appear before Judge Prisco on September 3, 2025, to formalize the agreement.¹

Her brother’s case ended differently. Ira Bernstein pleaded guilty on August 25, 2025, to one felony count of tampering with physical evidence and was sentenced on March 6, 2026, to one and a half to three years in state prison.⁸

The Civil Lawsuit

The ACD resolved only the criminal side. On July 27, 2023, Susan Bernstein filed a civil lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court in Rockland County naming Ira Bernstein, Jaclyn Goldberg, and Keane & Beane as defendants. The complaint contains 19 causes of action, including negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and seeks an undisclosed sum. The claims against Goldberg turn on the allegation that she tried to broker the destruction of the audio evidence rather than reporting the alleged plot; the claims against Keane & Beane allege negligent hiring, retention, and supervision.⁷

Keane & Beane publicly denied the claims, saying it had not yet been served and would mount “a vigorous defense of our firm and its sterling reputation.”⁹ No further public updates on the civil case have been reported.

Fallout Outside the Courtroom

The indictment also cost Goldberg a run for local office. In March 2023, the North Castle Republican Committee had nominated her for one of two open seats on the North Castle Town Board, a natural pick because she had served as the town’s labor counsel for roughly seven or eight years through her work at Keane & Beane. Three days after her arraignment, on June 4, 2023, she withdrew, citing “personal reasons,” and the committee substituted Mel Orellana, a member of the town’s Architectural Review Board, on the ballot.⁶

Her firm stood by her. When the indictment became public, Keane & Beane cited her twelve years there and said she had “requested time to address this difficult and unexpected situation” with the firm’s support.⁹ As of 2026, she remains listed as a member of the firm.¹⁰

1
The Journal News/lohud. Ramapo Man Pleads Guilty to Evidence Tampering in Second Murder Plot
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The Journal News/lohud. Podiatrist, Sister Wanted Tape of His Wife’s Murder Plot
3
Rockland County District Attorney. Bernstein and Goldberg Indictment Press Release
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ABC7 New York. Podiatrist, Girlfriend Sentenced in Plot to Murder Wife
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Rockland County District Attorney. Ira Bernstein Press Release
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The Examiner News. North Castle GOP Names Replacement for Indicted Town Board Candidate
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Law&Crime. Wife Targeted in Murder-for-Hire Plot Sues Podiatrist Ex and His Attorney Sister
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The Journal News/lohud. NY Podiatrist Ira Bernstein Gets Up to 3 Years for 2nd Supposed Murder-for-Hire Plot
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The Journal News/lohud. Estranged Wife Sues Bernstein, Sister for a 2nd Plot to Kill Her
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