Activities of a politically appointed $100,730 State Police "special assistant" questioned. Rabbi Bernard Freilich is not a police officer. He's a Jewish rabbi paid $100,730 annually as a politically appointed State Police "special assistant," a job he's had since Gov. George Pataki gave him the title in March 1995. Freilich's job, in part, is to serve as a "community liaison" to the Hasidic Jewish community, according to a job description on file with State Police. His police-like credentials have sparked allegations he parks illegally and has harassed motorists who believed he was a cop.
NEW YORK -- Behind the wheel of his dark-colored SUV, Bernard Freilich could pass for a cop.
In fact, people close to Freilich say at times he's presented himself as one.
His black GMC is equipped with flashing emergency lights, a police radio, siren, a State Police placard on the dashboard and special license plates that say "official."
In his pocket Freilich carries a State Police employee-identification card and, occasionally, he wears a gold State Police badge on a lanyard that hangs from his neck. But where he got the badge is anyone's guess.
Freilich is not a police officer. He's a Jewish rabbi paid $100,730 annually as a politically appointed State Police "special assistant," a job he's had since Gov. George Pataki gave him the title in March 1995. Freilich's job, in part, is to serve as a "community liaison" to the Hasidic Jewish community, according to a job description on file with State Police.
But in a period of government austerity some are questioning whether Freilich, 59, is a necessary asset to the State Police. Meanwhile, in a Brooklyn neighborhood where Freilich lives his police-like credentials have sparked allegations he parks illegally and has harassed motorists who believed he was a cop.
Since being appointed during Pataki's inaugural year, Freilich has held his job during the administrations of governors Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo, whose father, Mario, also assigned a rabbi to the State Police payroll. As Cuomo pledges to stem unnecessary hiring, some former troopers said Freilich's job should get a hard look.
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