MANHATTAN — The most well-known and respected bail bondsman in New York may become television's next star.
Bail bondsman Ira Judelson's made-for-TV life of high-risk investments, danger and drama will be the basis for a series that's in the works with "CSI" writer-producer Carol Mendelsohn, Judelson told DNAinfo.
Judelson, whose company issues most large bail bonds in the city — including the one that set Dominique Strauss-Kahn free — is the go-to man for the city's top criminal defense attorneys. He keeps especially busy in Manhattan, where white-collar and financial arrests are commonplace.
Now the 45-year-old is tackling a new arena: TV. He recently signed on with Mendelsohn's company, which is partnered with Paramount studios, to develop a series based on his life as a bondsman and family man, he said.
Judelson said he and his wife, Blake, 35, are to be executive producers and part owners of the series, the concept of which he described as "'Sopranos' meets 'Rescue Me.'"
The agency Judelson signed with declined to comment because the project is still in its early stages.
The based-on-reality series would feature a TV family inspired by the Judelson brood — eldest daughter Ava, 9, son Casey, 7, and 3-year-old daughter Charlie.
Once the show is packaged, there are plans to pitch the series to networks like Showtime or AMC, the home of such popular original series as "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," the bondsman said.
He said his agency is also in talks with writers for autobiography that would compliment the show.
Judelson backs most big-money bail bonds in the city in amounts ranging from $25,000 to numbers in the millions.
Recently, he's met with Anne Sinclair, wife of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to hash out details of his massive bail package. It involved the wiring of $1 million in cash and the backing of a $5 million insurance bond to compel the French political heavyweight accused of trying to rape a hotel maid to make every one of his New York court appearances.
He's also bailed out the city's most famous madam, Kristen Davis, among other famous names.
The charismatic bondsman — always dressed in a flashy gray suit and open-collar dress shirt — will be the show's leading man, but his relationship with his wife and kids as he tends to 24-hour arraignments in five busy boroughs will be a central theme, he said.
For a portrait of life as Judelson, one need look no further than the hospital delivery room during the births of each of his children — all of them were born during major organized crime takedowns, when calls to the top bondsman came non-stop.
The series, which doesn't yet have a writer, may also showcase his unlikely career path, which included stints running a bar and a tanning salon.
Longtime friend and criminal defense attorney Peter Frankel — for whom Judelson has bailed out clients like Plaxico Burress and rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, among hundreds of others — said Judelson's unique relationships with athletes, intellectuals and other accused criminals could be great fodder for the show.
"All these different types of people — he's dealing with them in a way where they've never had to deal with anybody else, because he's responsible for their freedom," Frankel said.
Another prominent defense attorney, Stacey Richman, known for representing rappers like Lil' Wayne and Ja Rule, and for whom Judelson has sprung a "countless" roster of clients said the show would be "interesting because it's part of my world and I know him and like him."
