Kenneth C. Crowe II is reporting for the Times Union former Rensselaer County Legislature chairman and convicted felon Martin Reid has landed a job in the administration of County Executive Steve McLaughlin. The Sand Lake Republican was arrested in 2015, and then convicted of charges that he hid his $30,000-a-year government salary when he received $15,000 in unemployment benefits. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to first-degree offering a false instrument and was ordered to serve three days in jail and pay a $5,000 fine. Reid currently works in real estate and was recently appointed to a newly created $60,000-a-year position as the county's property resource coordinator. McLaughlin is currently facing an investigation of his financial dealings by the FBI and the attorney general's office, as is Richard Crist, the county director of operations and McLaughlin spokesperson. In explaining Reid's hire, the county noted January 21, that he worked as a real estate professional for 12 years. Crist explained the county created the position to facilitate the seizure of abandoned properties to "...effectively get them back into productive use..." Reid's appointment stunned county Democrats, but at the same time, they were not surprised. "This is what we've come to. Until something changes with the leadership in Rensselaer County, the administration has a free hand," said Legislature Deputy Minority Leader Peter Grimm, a Troy Democrat. Read the full story in the Times Union.