Disgrace and Disgust in Henry County Va.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- The trees are turning colors on the ridges across the county, Martinsville Speedway is advertising for next season and cattle graze on whatever comes up through the red clay. But along the Smith River and the streets of several surrounding towns, there is an unrelenting grayness of abandoned textile mills, boarded-up furniture plants and empty businesses for sale or lease.

Residents of Henry County, a hard-luck rural area of about 58,000 on the North Carolina border, blame the North American Free Trade Agreement for their woes -- spitting its acronym like an expletive. Now, the indictment of the county sheriff and 12 former and current deputies in a drug-trafficking ring has only deepened the gloom.

"I think it's just a disgrace," said Tommy Hurley, 57, a used-car salesman who said that the area needs more than bad news. "We need some jobs."

"There may be some openings in the sheriff's department," chimed in Junior Agee, 73, a retired trucker from Eden, N.C.

A federal grand jury in Abingdon has charged Henry County Sheriff H.F. "Frank" Cassell and 12 former and current employees with participating in a criminal enterprise that dealt in cocaine, marijuana, steroids and ketamine, a powerful tranquilizer implicated in date-rape cases.

The 48-count indictment, returned Oct. 31, alleges crime after crime since 1998: Defendants dealt or stole confiscated weapons, including a machine pistol; they took money and property seized during investigations; they lied to federal investigators; and a drug dealer threatened to shoot a deputy in the conspiracy if the deputy snitched.

The indictment charges 20 people, including a postal service employee, a state probation officer and high-ranking deputies. Cassell, a 68-year-old grandfather who planned to retire after his current term, is charged with looking the other way, covering up and lying to federal investigators.

Locals have been mesmerized -- a radio station spent hours regaling listeners with information gleaned from recordings in the case -- and disgusted, too. The intrigues in Cassell's department, driven by sex, greed and power, read like an Appalachian version of an HBO drama but also seem certain to further tarnish the struggling region.

"It is disgraceful corruption," U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee said.

'Too Small' for a Big Scandal

Cassell has always been known for his poker face -- so much so that some folks wondered whether he ever smiled at all.

Along with his imposing height, Cassell had a cool, unflappable style that gave an impression that the former Virginia state trooper ruled his office with a sure hand.

"We thought he was doing good for the community, not lining his pockets," said Shelia Oliver, 43, a homemaker who was drinking coffee and smoking Marlboro 100s at Clarence's Steak & Seafood House last week. "He's out there doing the same thing he locked people up for!"