TROY — Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin's top aide, Richard W. Crist, was placed on unpaid administrative leave after a Times Union story Sunday detailed that the FBI and state attorney general's office are conducting a criminal investigation into Crist's work with political campaigns.

Crist, 51, is the county’s operations director and has been the close confidant of McLaughlin, a former state assemblyman who credited Crist with guiding him to victory in the 2017 election for county executive.

The county announced Crist's leave in a written statement Sunday. A county official said Crist was officially put on leave Saturday, when the Times Union's story detailing the criminal investigation was posted online.

In the statement, Rensselaer County Attorney Carl J. Kempf III said Crist’s duties will be handled by other county staff members. The statement said that: "Based on available information, the reported investigation is unrelated to county government operations and there is no allegation of any wrongdoing by any other county employee or official."

The statement also read, "without commenting on the merits of the reported investigation, everyone, including Mr. Crist, is entitled to the presumption of innocence."

Rensselaer County Legislature Chairman Michael Stammel said Sunday he was unaware of the investigation into Crist until he read the Times Union story.

Stammel said he has known Crist a long time and called him, "a good friend".

The Times Union's story reported that law enforcement officials have been working for months gathering records and conducting interviews on a range of matters related to Crist, including his work with various political campaigns.

Crist is a former Troy Record reporter who runs a private political consulting firm, Hudson Valley Strategies, and has been a powerful figure in Rensselaer County's political sphere for more than two decades. Hudson Valley Strategies has been paid more than $300,000 over the past eight years by campaign accounts for dozens of candidates, including several who were elected as judges, sheriffs and state legislators, according to state records.

Crist had served as McLaughlin's campaign director in a contentious 2017 election that divided the Rensselaer County Republican party before McLaughlin triumphed over former deputy county Executive Chris Meyer. McLaughlin went on to win the general election, and appointed Crist as his $105,000-a-year operations director after he was sworn in.

Crist last week declined to comment on the investigation or to say whether he had been interviewed by the FBI. He referred questions to his attorney, William J. Dreyer of Albany, who declined comment.

Crist did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. The county executive could also not be reached for comment.