Firefighter pleads guilty in prescription drug case

A Honolulu 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 December for distributing Alflutop, which he said he ordered from Romania, and up to 20 years in prison for importing PT-141, also known as 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 men and women. Neither drug has U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

As part of a plea agreement with the government, Hudgins 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 bodybuilders: IGF-1, or Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, a hormone that has anabolic effects in adults; and Melanotan II, for sunless tanning.