NEW BRUNSWICK — A judge lowered the bail to $2 million this morning for an Edison police officer charged with setting his superior officer's house on fire.

Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz agreed to lower Officer Michael Dotro’s bail from $5 million to $2 million, but rejected the $500,000 bail requested by Dotro’s attorney, Lawrence Bitterman, at a hearing in New Brunswick.

Bitterman responded, “that’s like there was no bail reduction.”

Dotro wore green jail garb and sat next to Bitterman. His wife sat in the first row of seats behind him, flanked by several Edison police officers in plain clothes.

Dotro, a 10-year veteran on the force, is charged with five counts of attempted murder and aggravated arson in connection with a fire at Capt. Mark Anderko’s Monroe Township home on May 23. Anderko, his wife, two children and 92-year-old mother were home at the time of the fire. The family escaped unharmed, but the house was heavily damaged.

Bitterman argued Dotro had no reason to flee and that “monetary conditions should not be used as punishment,” or “be the result of a public outcry.”

But, at the judge’s request, Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Mannion laid out some of the evidence the state has against Dotro.

Mannion said two melted one-gallon plastic water bottles were found at the scene of the fire, in which there had been gasoline. He said blue shop rags were used as wicks and investigators found a bath towel on the steps of the house. Plastic water bottles similar to those found at Anderko’s house were also found in the laundry room and Dotro’s shed.

He said when investigators executed search warrants of Dotro’s Manalapan home, they found an identical bath towel in his house, along with a number of blue shop rags in the garage that matched the ones used as wicks.

Mannion said the investigators found “another blue shop rag with the odor of gasoline” in Dotro’s truck.

“We have video from a nearby Quik Chek of Mr. Dotro where Mr. Dotro purchased gasoline about two weeks earlier,” he said, adding they also have video that isn’t as clear showing Dotro’s truck heading from Quik Chek in the direction of Anderko’s home.

Mannion said text messages between Dotro’s wife and Dotro about an hour before the fire reported at 3:50 a.m. show that the Dotros were “up and about” at that time.

Furthermore, Mannion said Dotro, who he said had a history of excessive force complaints at work, met with Anderko a week earlier and told he was going to be getting “performance enhancement,” and was being taken off nights, “something he was not happy about.”

“On the Thursday before the fire, Mr. Dotro was sent (to a doctor) for a fitness of duty examination,” he said.

When the Edison PBA Local 75 president sent around an e-mail to the union’s executive board—on which Dotro sits—asking for contributions toward a $5,000 donation to Anderko after the fire, Mannion said Dotro responded, “Nope. That guy’s been messing with us for years and I won’t give him a dime.”

Judge Ferencz told Bitterman that after hearing the evidence Mannion supplied, “I am left with the analysis so far that there is significant likelihood, given the state’s offer, of conviction.”

He said he also has to consider that there were multiple victims of the fire, in not reducing the bail to the bail requested by Bitterman.

After the hearing, Bitterman said “we’re pleased the judge lowered the bail, but given Officer Dotro’s ties to the community and the absence of any prior record, the judge should have considered lowering it to $500,000.”

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