Rabbi Impersonates Cop During Bout Of Road Rage To Speed Up Slow Drivers
From the archive: published Jul 15, 2013, 13 years ago. Details may have changed since.
A rabbi from the Westchester County of New York is facing felony charges after he reportedly impersonated a police officer and then shouted at a woman for driving too slowly.
Alfredo Borodowski allegedly flashed a fake police badge at the 24-year-old woman, who was driving her Toyota Camry in the Mamaroneck region of the county on a Wednesday morning, and then told her to pull over as he shouted, “Police! Police! Pull over.”
Mr Borodowski was infuriated with her slow driving, even though she was in a school zone. She refused to pull over and then called the real police, who then arrested the respected Rabbi and charged him with first-degree criminal impersonation.
To make matters even worse, Mr Borodowski is currently being investigated in at least two other similar cases, and authorities have stated that his only reason for doing so was because he has personally been blighted by their driving at some point in his travels.
The 49-year-old told investigators when he was arrested back in June, “That girl was driving too slow and I hate when people do this.”
Richard Clifford, the lawyer for the woman whose name hasn’t been released, stated that the rabbi “just laid on the horn and started screaming at her,” even though she was obeying the 20-mph speed limit.
Clifford then added, “She was so freaked out with the horn honking and the screaming that she called police immediately… I believe my client was in danger with this guy and if she had gotten out of her car it could have escalated.”
Mr. Borodowski has denied that he impersonated an officer, and instead has declared that he was simply telling her that he would be “calling the police.” Police have since confiscated his badge and have noted that it was “totally fake.” Mr. Borodowski has also been fired from his lofty position at the Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.