Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey said that an Edison patrolman and a former officer were arrested today and charged with planning to set fire to the home of a superior officer.
Officer Christian Pedana and Michael Dotro, who resigned as an Edison patrolman in September, were charged with conspiring to commit an aggravated arson and a related count of official misconduct in April 2013.
The case is in addition to an incident in which Dotro is accused of setting fire to a home of a different superior officer in Monroe Township on May 20, 2013.
After the new charges were filed today, Dotro’s bail was continued at $1.6 million. Bail for Pedana was set at $35,000.
They were charged during an investigation by Detective Donald Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
During the investigation, it was determined that Dotro, 39, of Manalapan, and Pedana, 44, of Edison, plotted on April 7, 2013 to set fire to the home of the superior officer.
The fire never was set and the superior officer was not injured.
Pedana also was charged with false swearing and a related count of official misconduct after it was determined that he provided a false statement to Detective Heck on June 10, 2013 during the arson conspiracy investigation.
Pedana has been an Edison police officer for 16 years. Dotro was an officer for nine years before he resigned.
The investigation is active and is continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3300.