A civilian who helped the feds build a case against members of the Henry County Sheriff's Office pleaded guilty to reduced charges on Monday, and a former sergeant who also cooperated is expected to follow suit.

William Randall Reed, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering in exchange for dismissal of five other charges.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents conducted an undercover delivery of ketamine, a date rape drug, at a Henry County residence in March 2005.

According to court records, Reed's acceptance of the package served as the springboard for the investigation, which eventually resulted in the indictment of former Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell, 12 current and former deputies and seven civilians.

Reed directed agents to James Alden Vaught, then a sergeant with the sheriff's office and the owner of the house where the ketamine was delivered. Reed had paid Vaught in cash and ketamine to use the house as a drop, officials say.

Reed also told investigators he had helped Vaught get rid of two kilograms of cocaine the sergeant had seized in a raid in 2001.

Vaught resigned from the department and agreed to wear a wire, eventually helping to record at least 100 tapes worth of conversations with two dozen people, according to prosecutor Tom Bondurant.

Bondurant said officials eventually learned that deputies were falsifying destruction orders for drugs, then selling them in the community. Other deputies are accused of buying steroids and distributing them, and Cassell is accused of obstructing the federal investigation, officials say.

Bondurant said Vaught has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, but Vaught's attorney was ill and could not be there for a guilty plea hearing.

However, Vaught has already signed the agreement, which indicates that a second conspiracy charge against him will be dropped.

Vaught and Reed each face up to 20 years in prison, but the U.S. Attorney's Office will request reduced sentences for both men if they continue to cooperate, records show.

That means if co-defendants go to trial, Reed and Vaught may be expected to testify against them, Bondurant said.

Reed also is in trouble in Pennsylvania, where he already pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge in Philadelphia that is also related to shipments of ketamine. None of the 16 other defendants in that case is linked to the Henry County case, Bondurant said.

Attorney Mark Cedrone, who is representing Reed in Pennsylvania, said his client may be sentenced at once for both cases, but that "requires a lot of hoops to jump through."

Both men are free on bond pending their sentencings.

Also on Monday, Cassell and nine other defendants, including his second in command, Maj. James Keaton, were arraigned on their charges and pleaded not guilty.

Bondurant said he expected the remaining defendants to be arraigned this week and plead not guilty to their charges.

No trial date has been set in the case.