TROY — The FBI and state attorney general's office have joined forces in a criminal investigation targeting Richard W. Crist, a longtime Republican political operative in Rensselaer County who serves as the operations director and confidant for county Executive Steve McLaughlin.

Interviews with multiple people familiar with the investigation, which has been ongoing for months, indicate law enforcement officials have been gathering records and conducting interviews on a range of matters related to Crist, including his work with various political campaigns.

Crist, 51, 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 also served as McLaughlin's campaign director in a contentious 2017 election that divided the Rensselaer County Republican party before the former assemblyman triumphed in a stinging primary victory 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.

When contacted Thursday, Crist 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.

Two people with knowledge of the investigation said people associated with companies that handled printing jobs for political campaigns — and had been hired at Crist's direction — have been subpoenaed and interviewed regarding that work. The investigation has focused, in part, on the amount of money those companies were paid in comparison with entries made in Board of Elections filings, the sources said.

The investigation is also examining whether companies were paid campaign funds for work that Crist would take on with the help of volunteers, the sources said.

Chris Valcik, who operated a company called Custom Graphics that had been used by Crist, confirmed last week that he had been interviewed by the FBI.

"I was subpoenaed and I had to answer some questions and I was told … not to discuss it," Valcik said. "It was like a couple weeks ago. I’m not supposed to talk about it, so I can’t answer any more questions."

Crist's standing with many GOP members in Rensselaer County began to waver in June 2017, when he threw his support to McLaughlin. That month, the county's Republican Committee had voted overwhelmingly to support Meyer in the race.

Weeks later, GOP county legislators met behind closed doors and voted to fire Crist from his $100,000-a-year job as the majority's legislative liaison, a position had had held for about 20 years. With the battle lines set, the seasoned political operative directed the primary campaign that led to McLaughlin defeating Meyer by several hundred votes.

McLaughlin placed Crist on his Assembly payroll after Crist was fired. McLaughlin has publicly credited Crist for his hard-fought primary victory.

Stan Brownell, R-Hoosick, who was chairman of the county Legislature in 2017 and made the decision to terminate Crist, declined comment last week. He is no longer a member of the Legislature.

As the unrest was gripping the Rensselaer County GOP party that spring, many Republican legislators were rankled that Crist had retained full control of a legislative campaign account, the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee, that at one point held more than $90,000.

People familiar with the account, who spoke on the condition they not be identified, said it had been set up to benefit Republican legislators' campaigns, but that Crist had allegedly indicated he could use the funds to defeat lawmakers who had supported his termination.

There were a series of peculiar amendments to the account's balance two years ago.

On July 5, 2017, a filing with the state Board of Elections indicated the account, which Crist controlled, held $91,298 in its January 2017 "periodic filing." Two weeks later, that filing was amended to indicate the account held just $38,801 in the January periodic filing. It's unclear why the account balance was adjusted.

Crist did not respond to follow-up questions about his handling of that account.

County Legislator Robert W. Bayly, a Republican whose district includes Poestenkill, North Greenbush and East Greenbush, recalled there were questions about the control of the money in that political account.

"I really didn't know how much was in there," Bayly said. "I don't know for sure what happened to that account's money, or where it went."

Filings with the state Board of Elections indicate the RLCC account had paid Custom Graphics more than $20,000.

People familiar with Crist's political dealings said that he has for years marketed his services to political candidates, including judicial office seekers, to secure them third-party lines. Those lines, including the Independence and Conservative spots, are often key in the outcome of Rensselaer County's tight political races.

At the time Crist was fired, McLaughlin called the move "thuggish behavior of the Rensselaer County machine." He left a message on the voicemail of Rensselaer County Sheriff Pat Russo that year berating him for sending two deputies to escort Crist out of the county building after he was fired.

McLaughlin did not respond to a request for comment.