Michael-Dotro.JPG

Edison Police Officer Michael Dotro, seen here during a 2013 court appearance, has now been charged with planning to retaliate against a North Brunswick police officer following a relative's drunken driving arrest.

(Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger)

In a span of four months last year, Edison Police Officer Michael Dotro was charged with firebombing his supervisor’s home, buying marijuana on duty, slashing a woman’s tires and carrying illegal weapons, among other alleged crimes.

On Monday, authorities added to that prodigious list, saying that in 2012, Dotro plotted a campaign of retaliation against one of his own — a North Brunswick cop — for charging a family member with drunken driving.

And this time, authorities said, Dotro enlisted help from his friends on the force.

In the latest blow to the troubled Edison Police Department, authorities arrested Dotro and two other officers at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Monday afternoon.

Dotro, 36, of Manalapan, Patrolman Victor Aravena, 42, of Edison, and acting Lt. William Gesell, 45, of Edison, were charged with conspiring to retaliate for a past official action, a fourth-degree offense that carries up to 18 months in prison.

Gesell also was charged with illegally accessing the department’s computer database, a third-degree crime, to gather information about the North Brunswick officer. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Aravena, a 13-year veteran who made $120,000 last year, and Gesell, a 20-year veteran who made $139,000, were immediately suspended without pay, Chief Thomas Bryan said. Dotro, who is free on $2.1 million bail stemming from the previous charges, was already on unpaid suspension.

All three were released on their own recognizance after their arrests. They could not be reached for comment.

Bryan declined to answer questions about the case, directing a reporter to a news release issued jointly by him and acting Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey.

Capt. Bruce Polkowitz, president of the Superior Officers Association, said the arrests of Aravena and Gesell came as a shock.

"My experiences working with Lt. Gesell and Victor Aravena have been exemplary," Polkowitz said. "They have an outstanding work ethic. They’re honorable, fair and decent police officers."

In their release, Bryan and Carey provided little detail, saying that after the drunken driving arrest of an unidentified individual, Dotro enlisted his colleagues in February of 2012 to enact payback.

"Dotro subsequently conspired with Aravena and Gesell to find ways to retaliate against the North Brunswick officer," the release said, adding that the retaliation did not come to fruition.

Two law enforcement officials familiar with the case provided additional detail, identifying the drunken driver as a relative of Dotro’s.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said the investigation developed after Dotro’s arrest on attempted murder charges for allegedly setting fire to the home of his captain, Mark Anderko, in May of last year.

After the fire, investigators seized the cell phones of officers who worked closely with Dotro or who were friendly with him. The phones used by Gesell and Aravena provided evidence against them in the retaliation case, the officials said.

It could not be determined what actions the three allegedly planned to take against the North Brunswick officer, who lives in Edison. Carey and Bryan did not identify the officer.

Officers on the force said Aravena and Gesell, unlike Dotro, do not have a history of misconduct or disciplinary problems.

Before his arrest on the attempted murder counts, Dotro had been the subject of 11 excessive force complaints in a decade, along with five other complaints, The Star-Ledger previously reported.

Authorities contend Dotro set the fire last May because Anderko, the supervisor, switched his shift and ordered him to undergo a fitness-for-duty evaluation with a psychologist. Subsequent investigation led to the drug and weapons counts last September.

Star-Ledger staff writer Sue Epstein contributed to this report.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Edison cop who allegedly torched captain's home arrested again, faces 17 new charges

• Timeline: Alleged wiretapping charges cap tumultuous 12 months for Edison police



• Betraying the badge: Edison police produce astonishing record of misconduct

FOLLOW THE STAR-LEDGER: TWITTER • FACEBOOK • GOOGLE+