A Honolulu Fire Department firefighter pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to importing and distributing unapproved prescription drugs from China and Romania.

Joseph F. Hudgins, 39, faces up to a year in jail when he is sentenced in Decmeber for distributing Alflutop, which he said he ordered from Romania; and up to 20 years in prison for importing PT-141 or Bremelanotide, from China. 

Proponents of the drugs say Alflutop helps stop tissue damage in degenerative joint disorders while Bremelanotide is effective in treating sexual dysfunction in both men and women. Neither drug has U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

As part of his plea deal with the government Hudgins has agreed to forfeit $38,465 he earned through his import business, Infinite Ideas.

In exchange the government has promised to drop charges involving two other prescription drugs favored by body builders: IGF-1, or Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, a hormone that has anabolic effects in adults; and Melanotan II, for sunless skin tanning.