Road-Rage Judge At It Again

ROAD-RAGE LI JUDGE IS AT IT AGAIN
The New York Post by MURRAY WEISS, LORENA MONGELLI and CHUCK BENNETT - February 21, 2009

A Long Island judge notoriously dubbed "Senator Road Rage" for his horrifying behavior while he was a politician nearly mowed down a traffic agent in Manhattan on Thursday and then threatened the officer's job, The Post has learned. Court of Claims Judge James J. Lack and his daughter, Katherine, 37, were "barreling down" West 60th Street near the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at about 5 p.m. when they crossed paths with the unlucky agent, sources said. Lack, who was awarded the judgeship by former Gov. George Pataki in 2002 after a stint in the state Senate, ignored an order to slow down from the officer, who was standing in the street, the sources said. The robed rage-a-holic - who's been involved in dozens of angry driving incidents over the last 20 years - gunned his engine to swerve around the agent, who struck his hand on the passenger's-side mirror, the sources said. Lack jumped out of his 2005 Mercury SUV and declared he was a judge, flashed an ID, and screamed, "I'll have your job!" the sources said. Katherine then heaped her own abuse on the agent before they abruptly drove off, said the sources.

Lack objected to that version of events. He said he had just left the Hospital for Special Surgery, where his wife was undergoing cancer surgery. He claimed the agent was not wearing a reflective vest and confused him with a jaywalker. The agent, he said, punched his window and broke the mirror. Lack called the cops, and Internal Affairs launched an investigation, the NYPD confirmed. His daughter admitted to being a little hotheaded but apologized, saying, "I was very upset. I get a rush of adrenaline when I'm scared." This was far from Lack's first roadside confrontation. In 2001, when Lack represented East Northport in the state Senate, he followed a horrified 39-year-old mother home after a traffic incident, threatened to have her jailed and cursed the woman out in her own garage. He also reduced an East Northport car wash attendant to tears after his credit card was rejected. murray.weiss@nypost.com