SHREVEPORT – Sheriff A.D. “Bodie” Little is among 11 suspects in an alleged drug-trafficking scheme indicted by a federal grand jury in Shreveport, accused of organizing the distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

The federal indictment, alleging conspiracy and other charges, was unsealed Tuesday.

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell also is conducting an investigation of Little, 62, and sheriff for three years. He was Winn assessor for 19 years before that.

and the way he does business as sheriff, an office Little has held since summer 2008. Little, 62, was elected Winn Parish tax assessor in 1989, an office he held until he became sheriff.

Little’s attorney, Taylor Townsend of Natchitoches, says the charges are political, prompted by Little’s hard-line approach to drug law enforcement.

If convicted of conspiracy or possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth, Little and the other suspects face a minimum 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

They also face a possible fine up to $10 million on counts on the charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Convictions of possessing and intending to distribute lesser amounts range from five years to 40 years in prison, she said.

Little also faces a charge of using a “communication facility,” presumably the Sheriff’s Office or a sheriff’s vehicle, to “facilitate a drug offense,” which carries a four-year prison sentence.