SUSPECTED DRUG DEALERS INDICTED

Spartanburg and Cherokee county investigators worked with state authorities
to track medium-to high-level dealers of marijuana, methamphetamine and
cocaine.

Sheriff Bill Coffey peered at photos on boards Wednesday as if searching
for familiar faces in a high school yearbook.

On a poster labeled "cocaine," he saw the toothy smile of Felton Smith
and the mane of black hair cascading to Arturo Vasquez's shoulders.

And Coffey recognized two other faces among the photos of those
indicted in "Operation Back Pay," which state Attorney General Charlie
Condon announced Wednesday.

Some had been suspects in drug cases Coffey knew about more than 25
years ago while working in narcotics, he said.

The first Coffey pointed out was a straight-faced man with creases
under his eyes, 55-year-old Guy Steven Wertz.

"He has been in the (drug) business forever," the sheriff
said.

Wertz, who also worked in the used-car business, was indicted on a
charge of conspiracy to traffic more than 100 pounds of marijuana in
the past year and a half.

Then Coffey spotted 52-year-old George Richard Thrift, a man who had a
trucking business and appeared well-groomed in a denim shirt.

"He has been importing (drugs) for many, many years," Coffey said of
the man indicted on a charge of conspiracy to traffic more than 100
grams of methamphetamine.

Operation Back Pay began a year and a half ago, Condon said.
Spartanburg and Cherokee county investigators worked with state
authorities to track medium-to high-level dealers of marijuana,
methamphetamine and cocaine, authorities boasted.

The state grand jury indicted just more than two dozen people charged
with drug offenses in Spartanburg, Cherokee, Anderson and Greenville
counties, according to the indictments.

Some of the charges carry mandatory 25-year sentences.

Coffey lauded the investigation for catching repeat offenders who have
never broken free of the drug trade.

Wertz's criminal history dated to November 1974, when Upstate deputies
charged him with possession of heroin, according to background
information from the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. His rap
sheet also includes drug arrests in 1979 and 1983, as well as a parole
violation in 1985.

Thrift's criminal history includes drug arrests in 1984 and
1990.

"We did our best to hold them accountable, but the system didn't deter
them," Coffey said.

The charges they are now indicted for carry a mandatory 25-year
sentence and fines that can be as much as $50,000, according to
information from Condon's office.

Changes to sentencing rules in the mid-1990s require people convicted
of trafficking large amounts of drugs to serve 85 percent of their
sentence, said Condon spokesman Robb McBurney.

Added together, the indictments announced Wednesday could result in
more than 500 years of prison time, Condon said.

"Sooner or later, if you stay in this business, you are going to be
facing some significant time," Coffey said.