Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Rabbi Impersonating a Cop (Allegedly) Redux

Couldn't he have just prayed instead?  As reported in The New York Post on 7/19/2013:

In the space of about 19 hours ending yesterday, a Westchester County rabbi was arrested or arraigned on three separate charges of impersonating a cop.
In each case, Rabbi Alfredo Borodowski was angered when other motorists drove too slowly or cut him off, police say. So he allegedly flashed a phony badge and tried to get them to pull over.
The rabbi’s unusual case made headlines after his first arrest, and the story gained momentum as others came forward to tell authorities he tried to stop them while driving.
The latest arrest stemmed from an encounter in Yonkers in April when “what appeared to be minor road rage escalated,” State Police Investigator Joseph Becerra said yesterday.
He said Borodowski angrily waved a badge at a driver who cut him off on I-87. “Words were exchanged,” Becerra said. The other driver and his passenger “felt they were intimidated by this individual, and he was purporting to be a police officer.”
The passenger videotaped some of the encounter, he said. The footage is not being released.
Borodowski surrendered yesterday at a State Police barracks in Hawthorne and was charged with the misdemeanor form of criminal impersonation. He is due in court July 29
The rabbi’s lawyer, Andrew Rubin, said Borodowski suffers from bipolar disorder.
Yesterday’s arrest came just a few hours after Borodowski pleaded not guilty in Mamaroneck Village Court to the same charge, stemming from a June incident in which Borodowski is accused of pulling his Camry alongside a woman’s car, flashing a badge and shouting “Police! Police! Pull over!”
Cops said he told them, “That girl was driving too slow, and I hate when people do this.” He denied posing as a police officer.
Prosecutor Diana Hedayati reduced the charge to a misdemeanor because the rabbi did not commit another crime while allegedly posing as an officer.
Judge Daniel Gallagher ordered a psychiatric evaluation and adjourned the case to Sept. 12.
Borodowski did not speak during the proceeding and refused to answer questions outside court.
On Wednesday, Borodowski was arrested in White Plains. A driver there complained the rabbi had confronted him in a rage in May, claiming to be an officer and displaying a badge.
The driver said it appeared that Borodowski wanted him to drive faster.
Borodowski is still listed as the leader of a congregation in Larchmont.

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