Neil O'Leary is a thirty year law enforcement veteran with a wide range of experience.  Many in law enforcement today credit Neil and his team's aggressive approach for decreasing Waterbury's crime rate.

In 2004, then-Police Superintendent O'Leary founded the new Waterbury Police Activities League (PAL) which has received national acclaim.  The PAL organization was developed to serve inner city at risk youth providing both educational and athletic opportunities.  Today, PAL has over 3,000 members, owns and operates its own K-8 facility where teachers mentor students in subjects such as: math, reading, writing, nutrition, agriculture and more.  PAL also owns and operates a separate recreation center one block away from the PAL school, which offers both instructional and competitive athletic programs.  The Waterbury PAL organization was featured in the April 2010 edition of the national publicized "Police Chief" magazine.

Upon his retirement from the Waterbury Police Department in June 2009, Neil served on the Waterbury Board of Education where he was the chairman of both the finance and transportation committees.  As Board of Education commissioner, Neil worked tirelessly visiting successful school districts in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts constantly trying to identify new approaches in education for the betterment of our district here in Waterbury.