Westchester Man Recounts Run-In With Alleged Police Impersonator Rabbi

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A second victim has now come forward in the case of a Westchester County rabbi accused of impersonating a police officer.

As CBS 2's Lou Young reported, the real police in Mamaroneck arrested Rabbi Alfredo Borodowski of White Plains, but now, a victim in a neighboring town said it happened to him and his wife.

Borodowski, the rabbi at Sulam Yaakov in Larchmont, allegedly exploded in a road rage incident with a 24-year-old woman on Mamaroneck Avenue. The woman said she was driving 20 mph -- the posted speed limit in the school zone, but the rabbi allegedly got mad at her slow speed and then is accused of flashing a fake police badge.

Borodowski allegedly ordered the woman to pull over, but she refused to exit her car and called police, who arrested Borodowski and had him charged with criminal impersonation – a felony.

When Borodowski's photo appeared onscreen last week when he was charged, Peter Moses could not believe his eyes. He said it was someone he and his wife met under similar strange circumstances last month.

"When we saw that face, we knew that the person who had accosted us -- and left my wife completely unnerved and afraid -- was the same person who was in the report on Channel 2," Moses said.

He said it began on the Scarsdale bypass, with an impatient driver first tailgating, then honking his horn and passing his car, and finally waiting farther up the road to block Moses' way.

Moses said the man was shaking with rage, and identified himself as a police officer.

"He had a small badge that did not have the name of a police department on it, so I knew he wasn't really cop at that point, but I didn't want to escalate the problem," Moses said. "But he did threaten to arrest me. I told him 'Fine, let's call the police,' at which point he left."

There has been no comment from representatives of Sulam Yaakov, and no one answered the door at Borodowski's home in White Plains. The attorney for the rabbi's other alleged victim said she is grateful not to be alone challenging the otherwise well-regarded clergyman.

"This man is a very highly educated individual; and it's just bizarre," said attorney Richard Clifford. "It makes no sense to lots of people."

Clifford said he is certain there are more victims.

White Plains police took a statement from Moses and his wife Friday night. The Westchester District Attorney's office now has the case.

Borodowski is due to appear in court on July 11.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories