LEBANON — Alleged drug dealers Willie Cole and Chester Sandlin took on a unique distinction Friday.

        The South Lebanon residents — arrested after a Wednesday raid and said by police to be major players in the area's cocaine trade — became the first suspects charged in Warren County under a state racketeering law.

        A grand jury boosted charges against the men, assuring each of them up to 18 years in prison if convicted of racketeering and conspiracy.

        Mr. Sandlin, 59, of High Street, and Mr. Cole, 62, of Morrow Road, denied the allegations during an arraignment hearing and were released from jail after their families posted bail.

        Sharon McClellan, state criminal justice director, said statistics were not immediately available on how often the racketeering charge has been filed statewide since the law was enacted in 1986.

        It can be used in cases ranging from homicide to burglary. In drug cases, charges can be filed when two or more people commit two or more similar criminal acts for profit, she said.

        John Burke, commander of the county drug task force, urged prosecutors to seek indictments on racketeering, and said he intends to seek the charge in the future because it guarantees prison time.

        “It's appropriate. We can prove they benefited financially,” Mr. Burke said.

        In addition to racketeering, the two face various felony counts of trafficking in cocaine, which stem from alleged sales to undercover agents and do not carry mandatory prison sentences.

        They are accused of selling cocaine to a large number of people from throughout Warren, Hamilton and Clermont counties for at least five years.

        Authorities did not find drugs at the suspects' homes during the raid but allege the two made a lucrative business of selling 1-gram packages of cocaine.

        That is evidenced, Mr. Burke said, by the money seized — $6,700 in cash from the suspects' homes; $100,000 in investments made by Mr. Sandlin, who supports himself with a monthly disability pension of $1,100; and $43,700 split between Mr. Sandlin's savings account and a safe-deposit box.

        John Quinn, their lawyer, said Mr. Sandlin acquired his money through the sale of a farm in Kentucky.

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