Manalapan man faces arson charge in fire at cop’s home

BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — A Manalapan resident who is a nine-year veteran of the Edison Police Department in Middlesex County has been charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated arson for setting fire to the home of his superior officer, an Edison police captain, in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, last week.

Michael A. Dotro, 35, was arrested at his home in Manalapan on May 23 after an investigation led by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Monroe Township Police Department. Dotro has been suspended from his job with pay, according to a press release issued by Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Monroe Police Chief Michael E. Lloyd.

Officials were able to quickly determine that arson was the cause of the fire that began early on the morning of May 20 outside a two-story colonial-style home on Arlene Drive, Monroe Township.

Police were notified of the fire at 3:59 a.m. and dispatched firefighters from four Monroe Township fire stations, as well as EMS personnel. The fire, which caused substantial damage to the home of Edison Police Capt. Mark Anderko, was brought under control within 15 minutes.

Anderko, his wife, two children and Anderko’s 92-year-old mother were in the home at the time of the fire, but they were not injured.

State Superior Court Judge Vincent LeBlon, sitting in New Brunswick, set bail for Dotro at $5 million and said the defendant must post the full amount before he can be released from custody.

The judge stipulated that if Dotro posts bail, he must surrender his firearms and passport and may not have any contact with the victims of the fire.

Edison Mayor Antonia Ricigliano said she was at a loss for words in the wake of Dotro’s arrest and the charges levied against the officer.

She said Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan relayed the news to her before the prosecutor’s office published the press release at about 7:30 p.m. May 23.

“We are just across-the-board devastated,” the mayor said.

Ricigliano said she has not spoken to Anderko, but is glad that he and his family were not injured in the fire at their home.

“I sent him an email saying we are here in whatever capacity he needs us for him and his family,” she said.

Bryan referred all inquiries to the prosecutor’s office in regard to the investigation. He said he has spoken to Anderko and reported that the officer and his family members are OK.

In recent months, published articles detailed internal struggles and strife within the Edison Police Department that have pitted officers against one another for a variety of reasons.

Law enforcement authorities have not said what the motive may have been for the May 20 arson at Anderko’s home.