Former cop pleads guilty in steroids case

A former Philadelphia police detective pleaded guilty yesterday to 17 felony charges for orchestrating a Northeast-based anabolic steroids and human growth hormone distribution ring.

Keith Gidelson, 36, of Modena Park, faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a $500,000 fine for each of 16 counts of possession of anabolic steroids with intent to distribute, along with a single conspiracy count.

In exchange for his plea, authorities agreed to drop a firearms charge. A sentencing date was not announced.

Gidelson was arrested in May 2011 after a grand jury accused him of distributing the controlled substances at area fitness clubs and the homes of alleged customers from September 2009 through April 2011. Authorities described Gidelson as the ringleader who obtained the substances via shipments from China and Europe. Gidelson also distributed the substances via e-mail and Web-based contacts.

Gidelson was fired soon after his arrest. He was a 14-year police veteran assigned to the department’s safety office. ••