[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 208 (Thursday, December 2, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING FBI SPECIAL AGENT BRENDAN J. O'LEARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DARIN LaHOOD

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2021

  Mr. LaHOOD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate and honor the 
service of newly retired FBI Special Agent (SA) Brendan J. O'Leary. SA 
O'Leary dedicated 22 years of his life to the FBI and served his 
country with distinction. Brendan was born and raised in Chicago and 
received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at 
Urbana-Champaign and his law degree from the John Marshall--UIC School 
of Law. Prior to joining the FBI, Brendan served honorably as an 
Assistant State's Attorney with the Cook County State's Attorney's 
office prosecuting criminal cases. After being selected into the FBI, 
SA O'Leary spent most of his career in the Chicago Field office 
investigating and overseeing public corruption cases,
  In 1999, SA O'Leary began his FBI career in the Las Vegas Division 
where he quickly established himself as a competent and hardworking 
agent. He was immediately assigned to a significant public corruption 
investigation in which business owners were bribing elected county 
commissioners and other public officials in return for official acts 
intended to hamper investigations of their businesses. The case was 
named ``Operation G-Sting'' and it ended up being the largest and most 
comprehensive public corruption case in the history of Nevada. In 2004, 
after a successful assignment in Las Vegas, SA O'Leary transferred to 
the Chicago Division and was assigned to a public corruption squad, 
where he used his experience to address the systemic corruption in the 
City of Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois.
  In 2012, SA O'Leary became the Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) for 
WC-2. As the SSA, he oversaw a number of high-profile public corruption 
investigations. These investigations included cases involving members 
of the U.S. Congress, the Illinois State Legislature, the Chicago City 
Council, and other local politicians. Over the last two years, he was 
the acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge over the White-Collar 
Branch, and not only oversaw several cases involving complex financial 
crimes, health care fraud, and money laundering investigations, but 
also very significant ongoing public corruption investigations. 
Throughout all of this, SA O'Leary continued to take an active role in 
cases, utilizing his experience and insight. He advocated on behalf of 
agents and programs and represented the FBI in a professional and 
intelligent manner when speaking to community groups or at school 
events. SA O'Leary not only had a passion for the public corruption 
program, but always followed the path of righteousness when fighting 
for the citizens of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the United 
States of America. Agent O'Leary established a reputation for his 
relentless pursuit of justice and holding elected officials and 
government employees accountable under the rule of law.
  Throughout the course of his 22 years, SA O'Leary was a reliable and 
steady leader who set a standard for excellence. Brendan J. O'Leary's 
professional accomplishments were achieved with the loving support of 
his wonderful wife Chris and their four beautiful daughters.

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