NY rabbi charged 3rd time with impersonating officer, pleads not guilty in 1st arrest.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — In the space of about 19 hours ending Thursday, a rabbi from the New York suburbs was arrested or arraigned on three separate charges of impersonating a police officer.

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 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 Thursday.

He said Borodowski angrily waved a badge at a driver who cut him off on Interstate 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.

The rabbi's lawyer, Andrew Rubin, said Borodowski suffers from bipolar disorder.

Thursday'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!"

Police 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 agreed to reduce the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. The revision means the rabbi is much less likely to be jailed if he's found guilty.

The Westchester district attorney's office said the charge was reduced from felony status because the rabbi's behavior did not include intent to commit another crime while impersonating an officer.

Borodowski did not speak during the proceeding and refused to answer questions outside the courthouse. Richard Clifford, a lawyer representing the woman who reported him, said he was not disappointed that the charge was reduced.

"Putting everyone in jail is not a solution," he said.

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 Borodowski wanted him to drive faster.