PALM DESERT - Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit said today that his chief of staff, Barry Nestande, died after a workout at a gym.

Nestande, 49, was pronounced dead about 3 p.m. Friday at John F. Kennedy Memorial Center in Indio, Darin Schemmer, spokesman for Benoit's office, said in a released statement.

Nestande, who was the brother of state Assemblyman Brian Nestande, was riding an exercise bicycle at World Gym in La Quinta when he collapsed, Benoit told the Desert Sun newspaper.

Nestande met Benoit in 2002 when Benoit was elected to the California Assembly. Advertisement

[ Chatton and Associates ] Nestande was Benoit's chief of staff for seven years.

"From the earliest days of my first campaign for the State Assembly in 2001, until lunch yesterday, Barry Nestande was by my side," Benoit said in a released statement. "We were closer than most brothers."

Nestande served as chief of staff through Benoit's tenure in the Legislature and as Riverside County supervisor. Prior to serving Benoit, Nestande spent years working in politics and in the financial and insurance industries.

Nestande leaves behind a wife and two sons.

The Nestande Family was yet to announce funeral services.