NYSP investigator arrested, charged with tipping off fentanyl dealer

A New York State Police narcotics researcher has been arrested for allegedly tipping disconnected a fentanyl trader astir a covert investigation and past lying to the feds.

Michael O’Flaherty, 42, of Poughkeepsie, exploited his presumption of nationalist spot to assistance a “prolific” cause trader evade instrumentality enforcement, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said successful a connection Thursday.

The unidentified dealer, who antecedently served arsenic an informant for the authorities constabulary nether the supervision of O’Flaherty, was “responsible for distributing tens of thousands of potentially deadly fentanyl pills,” according to Williams.

O’Flaherty is accused of telling the trader astir a 2022 probe into fentanyl pill organisation linked to aggregate overdose deaths successful upstate New York’s Dutchess County.

According to a study released that year, Dutchess County had the highest complaint of overdose deaths successful the state, with 43.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Among the 106 opioid-involved OD deaths recorded successful the region successful 2022, 98 of them progressive fentanyl, officials said.

When speaking with members of the squad assigned to the fentanyl investigation, O’Flaherty “expressed a willingness to assist,” but maintained a idiosyncratic narration with the trader unbeknownst to his supervisors, prosecutors said.

While pretending to collaborate with his colleagues, O’Flaherty allegedly told the trader astir the ongoing investigation, advised them to destruct grounds and adjacent “tried to excavation for delicate details astir the investigation,” including the individuality of different confidential root wrong the dealer’s network.

He besides tried to fell the quality of his narration with the trader by failing to archer his supervisors astir idiosyncratic telephone calls and texts they’d exchanged, and yet by lying to national investigators.

O’Flaherty was arrested Thursday greeting and charged with obstructing justness and making mendacious statements to national agents.

“The defendant’s alleged behaviour betrayed the oath helium swore to support New Yorkers and jeopardized the information of chap instrumentality enforcement officers,” U.S. Attorney Williams said successful a statement.