Perrysburg man faces up to 34 years in prison when he is sentenced for anabolic steroid offences.

A Perrysburg man faces up to 34 years in prison when he is sentenced for manufacturing, possessing, and selling anabolic steroids.

Greg A. Kreuz, 39, of 1903 Coe Ct. pleaded no contest Tuesday to two counts of aggravated possession of drugs and one count each of illegal manufacture of drugs, possession of drugs, and trafficking in drugs. Wood County Common Pleas Judge Alan Mayberry found him guilty and scheduled sentencing for Feb. 25.

Gwen Howe-Gebers, chief assistant Wood County prosecutor, said Kreuz was manufacturing his own brand of steroids and even printed his own labels.

Investigators first began hearing about Kreuz's illegal activity in the fall of 2009, she said. Postal inspectors reported he was receiving items from China through the mail, and a drug task force in Franklin County advised that he was selling and distributing his steroids in exchange for the prescription painkiller Oxycontin.

Local investigators literally went through his trash.

"He would not put his trash out in front of his house. He went down the street to where a number of trash containers were, and they would follow him at different times of the day or night," Ms. Howe-Gebers said.

When investigators executed a search warrant at Kreuz's home on July 7, 2010, they found pills used to manufacture steroids, vials, and cash behind hidden panels in the stairs and walls. They seized Oxycontin, Ritalin, and anabolic steroids.

"They also found cash in the basement in a false ceiling and in his room in his closet," Ms. Howe-Gebers said.

In the garage, investigators found a plastic storage tote containing a hotplate, a blender, a computer, and a printer he used to print his own labels, among other items used to manufacture and distribute drugs.

As part of the plea agreement with Kreuz, an additional charge of aggravated possession of drugs is to be dismissed at sentencing along with a specification that alleged he manufactured steroids in the vicinity of a juvenile or a school.

Ms. Howe-Gebers said Kreuz could receive between 2 and 34 years in prison, and she plans to recommend "double digit" prison time. As part of the plea agreement, she said, Kreuz is to file an affidavit of indigency so that he won't be required to pay mandatory fines for the convictions. In return, he will not contest the forfeiture of money and property seized during two searches of his Perrysburg home, including more than $45,000 in cash, two vehicles, computer equipment, flat-screen televisions, and appliances.

Ms. Howe-Gebers said Kreuz, who remains free on bond, has a prior conviction for selling and distributing steroids in Fulton County.