4 Edison Police Officers Admit to Retaliation Plan Against North Brunswick Cop

Edison, NJ - Four Edison police officers pleaded guilty Friday to charges arising from an investigation in which they were linked to a plan to retaliate against a North Brunswick police officer who had arrested another individual on a drunk-driving charge in 2012.

The guilty pleas were entered in New Brunswick by Officer Michael A. Dotro, 39, of Manalapan, Officer Brian Favretto, 41, of Brick, and Officer Victor E. Aravena, 45, and Sgt. William H. Gesell, 48, both of Edison.

Each of the officers will forfeit their jobs and will never again hold public jobs in New Jersey when they are sentenced on January 13, 2017 in New Brunswick. Each officer has resigned from Edison's 180-officer Police Department.

Dotro, who still faces charges in two unrelated cases, pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy, admitting he sought retaliation against the North Brunswick police officer who had ticketed another individual for drunk driving.

In separate cases that are pending, Dotro is charged with slashing the tires of a car owned by an Edison woman, having prohibited devices, possession of an imitation firearm and carrying brass knuckles, an imitation weapon, a small club known as a black jack, a small quantity of marijuana, and a device used to smoke marijuana, all of which were discovered in his police duty bag on May 23, 2013. In another case, he is accused of attempted murder and other charges for setting fire to the home of an Edison police captain, while the captain and relatives were asleep inside.

Favretto pleaded guilty to a count of obstruction of the administration of law, admitting he tried to intervene in the drunk-driving case. Gesell pleaded guilty to tampering with pubic records, admitting he accessed computer records on the North Brunswick officer.

Aravena pleaded guilty to a count of obstruction of the administration of law, saying he passed along the computer records to Dotro to assist with the retaliation.

An investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that no actual retaliation had been undertaken, however.

“This is a sad day for the Edison Police Department because of the tarnish it brings to the reputations of our many other upstanding and hard-working police officers,” Edison Business Administrator Maureen Ruane said. “We are glad to see these men chose to resign their positions, bringing an end to their tenure here. We must also commend the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office for its diligent investigation and prosecution of this matter.”