All four officers are suspended without pay.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- A year and a half after indictments were handed down and three years after the incident that sparked a criminal investigation, the trials of four Edison police officers accused of retaliating against a fellow officer will begin in May 2016.
The officers -- Michael Dotro, Victor Aravena, William Gesell and Brian Favretto -- appeared Monday morning in Superior Court. They're accused of retaliating against a North Brunswick police officer who arrested Dotro's friend for driving drunk, even though the driver had flashed a police union card.
Judge Alberto Rivas, sitting in New Brunswick, had proposed a February trial, but with four defense attorneys trying to coordinate, he agreed to set a May 3 start date. The investigation began in the months after May 2013, when Dotro allegedly set his superior's house on fire. He has pleaded not guilty to arson and attempted murder charges, and the trial on those counts won't begin until the summer, at the earliest.
RELATED: Edison cops deny retaliating against officer who issued DUI ticket
The criminal case includes a dizzying array of motions, cross-motions, appeals, anonymously mailed dossiers, and disputes over discovery, helping delay the case since the indictments came down in October 2014.
Already beleaguered by a history of misconduct, the Edison Police Department will again be cast in a harsh light during the trial, which is likely to be lengthy and complex.
Lawyers for the four officers are now trying to suppress evidence based on allegedly faulty search warrants, an issue that will be resolved by the time the trials begin. Much of the evidence consists of text messages among the officers.
In a decision last week, Judge Rivas rejected separate efforts to throw out the indictments on a variety of legal thrusts and parries.
All four were indicted on conspiracy and official misconduct; Dotro and Gesell were charged with unlawful access to a computer system; and Aravena was charged with witness tampering and a pattern of official misconduct.
Favretto's attorney has said prosecutors acted improperly by using the word "recommend" when discussing charges against him before a grand jury. Grand jurors are supposed to come to the decision themselves. But Rivas ruled that the mere use of the word "did not amount to testimony."
"Brian is confident that if the matter ultimately proceeds to a trial, a jury will see that he is not in any way responsible for committing any criminal act, let alone the charges set forth in the indictment," Favretto's attorney, Anthony Iacullo, said. "We are still hopeful that this matter will be dismissed as to Brian prior to the May 3 trial date."
Dotro, according to the decision, allegedly said he'd be "locking [the North Brunswick officer] up" if he didn't agree to reduce or throw out the DWI charge against his friend.
That, the judge wrote, could be "fairly interpreted as expressing an intent to bring false charges against the North Brunswick police officer."
Gesell ran a full check on the North Brunswick officer in the CJIS database, without apparent law enforcement justification, the judge wrote.
His attorney, Darren Gelber, has tried to have his case tried separately, since he was not involved with some of the other alleged conduct. Rivas denied that. Gelber also argued that since Gesell had a password to the criminal justice database, by nature he couldn't have improperly accessed it. That argument, too, was rejected.
"We felt pretty strongly that we had some valid legal arguments," Gelber said. "Judge Rivas disagreed with us. We're evaluating whether to pursue an appeal. And we look forward to the trial."
All four officers are suspended without pay.
"Victor committed no crime," said Aravena's attorney, Joe Tacopina. "I'm confident that when the facts come out for a jury, that will be shown."
Dotro's lawyers, meanwhile, are fighting with prosecutors over whether they'll be able to inspect his pickup truck outside the presence of the prosecutor's office in the separate arson case. The pickup was allegedly used in the firebombing, prosecutors allege.
Robert Norton, Dotro's attorney, has argued in court papers that the presence of prosecutors during the truck inspection would tip them off to the defense strategy. The prosecution, meanwhile, argues that allowing a private inspection will muddy up the chain of custody.
Rivas sided with Dotro in a June decision, but the prosecutor's office is appealing.
Complicating efforts to make the state's case, the FBI lost a hair sample from the scene of the fire, and another one didn't match Dotro.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.