WHITE PLAINS – Former New York State Police Investigator Michael O’Flaherty, who resides in Poughkeepsie, and was arrested by the FBI in November, appears to be cooperating with the federal prosecutors. The FBI arrested the State Police investigator following a two-year investigation into his illegal assistance to a Poughkeepsie-based narcotics dealer.
O’Flaherty’s attorney, Andrew Quinn, was negotiating with the US Attorney’s Office in December, seeking a disposition to the case without going to trial. Since negotiations began, the charges against O’Flaherty have been changed from two felony counts of obstruction of an official proceeding and two felony counts of offering false statements down to two felony counts of intimidation or force against a witness.
On December 18, 2025, prosecutors offered a proposed plea agreement, which O’Flaherty is considering, according to court documents. On January 14, 2026, at a court hearing, the court appears to have given until February 11, 2026, to accept the plea deal or proceed to trial.
During the investigation that ultimately led to his arrest, O’Flaherty was assigned to the New York State Police Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team (VGNET). According to court documents, Federal law enforcement agents were investigating a large-scale fentanyl distribution ring, and agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) realized that the primary dealer in the ring had previously acted as a confidential informant for O’Flaherty.
O’Flaherty was made aware of the investigation and offered to help the federal agents in breaking up the drug ring. What O’Flaherty failed to say, according to the FBI, was that he had maintained a personal relationship with the dealer/informant. O’Flaherty is accused of providing information about the investigation to the fentanyl dealer and warning him to get rid of his cell phones because of the surveillance.
FBI agents walked into Troop K Headquarters and arrested O’Flaherty on November 21, 2024, in Poughkeepsie, after a federal indictment was unsealed, charging O’Flaherty with two felony counts of obstruction of an official proceeding and two felony counts of offering false statements. The obstruction charges are punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison for the 42-year-old cop who was hired in 2013. The false statement charges each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
In 2024, . The headline for the story about the charges being dropped read: “Charges dropped against drug dealer; state trooper under investigation” and the New York State Police Investigators Association, through President Tim Dymond, issued a rebuttal, saying in part, “Our Union feels it’s important that the truth of this case is brought forward as the headline is misleading, focusing attention on a State Police Investigator who has not been charged with any crime rather than a career criminal.”
Since his arrest, O’Flaherty has been working at a Poughkeepsie funeral home while studying to become a funeral director, according to sources.
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