By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK — Former Edison Police Officer Michael Dotro must serve probation for two years for his involvement in attempting to harass and humiliate a North Brunswick police officer in 2012.
Dotro, 39, of Manalapan, who was a nine-year veteran of the Edison Police Department, stood before Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone with his Westfield-based attorney Robert Norton at a sentencing hearing at the Middlesex County Courthouse on Jan. 20.
Paone said he understands that Dotro has other pending charges, which include charges of aggravated arson and five counts of attempted murder for allegedly setting fire to the home of Edison Police Capt. Mark Anderko in 2013 among others charges.
The investigation of the aggravated arson case revealed the case that involved the North Brunswick police officer.
But Paone noted that Dotro has not been convicted of the charges; therefore, he said he was reluctant to consider them in his decision.
Through a plea agreement in September 2016, Dotro along with Brian Favretto, of Brick, William Gesell and Victor E. Aravena, both of Edison, agreed to forfeit their employment as police officers and will not be able to hold any other public office position in the future in New Jersey.
Dotro pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy, which is a fourth-degree crime.
Favretto, Gesell and Aravena pleaded guilty to fourth-degree disorderly conduct charges. Favretto and Gessell avoided probation at their sentencing on Jan. 13, and each had to pay $325 in fines. Aravena is expected to be sentenced at a later date.
Paone, before he sentenced Dotro to two years of probation, acknowledged that Dotro, prior to the incident, has lived a law-abiding life and is currently employed. He said this was a negotiated plea with the state.
“For [Michael] Dotro to enlist other members of the Edison Police Department in this scheme to at least discuss efforts to retaliate against a North Brunswick police officer on a ticket given to Dotro’s friend reflects a certain level of corruption at least on some members of the Edison Police Department, and it cannot be tolerated,” he said.
Along with probation, Dotro must also pay $420 in fines.
On Oct. 24, 2014, a Middlesex County grand jury indicted the four officers with conspiracy and official misconduct. The indictment included 11 counts.
The officers allegedly planned between Jan. 18 and May 1 in 2012 to retaliate against the North Brunswick officer by improperly accessing information about him and performing surveillance of him and his travel habits, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
In addition, Gesell was charged with unlawfully accessing a police computer system, along with a related count of official misconduct for seeking information on the North Brunswick officer.
An investigation by the prosecutor determined that the retaliation was planned after the North Brunswick police officer arrested an associate of Dotro on a charge of driving while intoxicated.
Dotro subsequently conspired with his three fellow police officers to retaliate against the North Brunswick officer, according to authorities. No actual retaliation was undertaken, however.