Westchester Rabbi Arrested On 3rd Impersonation Charge
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Westchester County rabbi accused of angrily flashing a badge at several other motorists has been arrested for the third time on a charge of impersonating a police officer.
Rabbi Alfredo Borodowski was arrested in connection with an incident on Interstate 87 in Yonkers in April, state police said.
He is accused of confronting drivers who he felt drove too slowly or cut him off, displaying a phony badge and ordering them to pull over.
His arrest Thursday came just a few hours after he pleaded not guilty to a similar incident in Mamaroneck in June and less than 24 hours after his arrest in White Plains for an alleged episode in May.
Westchester Rabbi Pleads Not Guilty To Impersonation Charge
State police said in the Yonkers incident, Borodowski was videotaped flashing a badge by a passenger in the other car. That footage has not been released.
In the Mamaroneck case, which occurred last month, Borodowski is accused of pulling his Camry alongside a woman's car, flashing a badge and shouting: "Police! Police! Pull over!''
"The driver started honking and screaming at her and pulled up alongside her at a red light and directed her to pull over to the side and the driver held up a badge," said Richard Clifford, who represents the woman. "That led to her complaint to the police department."
Borodowski told police he was angry about her slow driving. He denied posing as a police officer.
His lawyer, Andrew Rubin, entered the plea in Mamaroneck Village Court after prosecutor Diana Hedayati agreed to reduce the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Judge Daniel Gallagher ordered a psychiatric evaluation and adjourned the case to Sept. 12. Rubin has said the rabbi suffers from bipolar disorder.
Clifford said his 24-year-old client, who asked for her name to not be released, feels a sense of satisfaction that other victims have come forward.
Borodowski was terminated from his position as executive director of the Skirball Center for Jewish Learning at Temple Emanu-El on East 65th Street earlier this month, but he is still listed as the rabbi at Sulam Yaakov in Larchmont.
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