Gerald F. "Gerry" O’Leary (August 7, 1932 – May 23, 2014) was an American politician from

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. O'Leary was born on August 7, 1932, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He attended

English High School of Boston The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation ...

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

, and Portia Law School. A student athlete, O'Leary ran the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

at English and played running back for the Holy Cross football team. O'Leary represented the 5th Suffolk District in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1965 to 1969. He then went on to serve on the

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

from 1968 to 1975. He was the Council's President in 1969 and from 1974 to 1975. He ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, but lost to Middlesex County District Attorney

John J. Droney John Joseph Droney (1911–1989) was an American politician who served as district attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1959 to 1983. Early life Droney was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He played football and hockey at Cambridge R ...

in the Democratic primary. In 1979, he was elected to the Boston School Committee. He resigned on October 4, 1980, after being arrested and charged with attempting to extort a $650,000 kickback from a school bus company. He pleaded guilty to violating the

Hobbs Act The Hobbs Act, named after United States Representative Sam Hobbs ( D- AL) and codified at , is a United States federal law enacted in 1946 that provides: Section 1951 also proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without referen ...

and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. O'Leary had a wife, who died of breast cancer, and 5 daughters who remain alive today. He has 3 grandchildren. O'Leary died on May 23, 2014, at his home in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OLeary, Gerald 1932 births 2014 deaths American politicians convicted of federal public corruption crimes Presidents of the Boston City Council Boston School Committee members College of the Holy Cross alumni Holy Cross Crusaders football players Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives New England Law Boston alumni Politicians from Quincy, Massachusetts Massachusetts politicians convicted of crimes People from South Boston