TAMPA, Fla. -- A central Florida man who claimed he sold steroids to players from the Washington Nationals baseball club and Capitals hockey team has pleaded guilty to possessing the bodybuilding drug.

Richard Thomas boasted to investigators that he was central Florida's largest steroids dealer and had sold to professional athletes, including members of the two Washington teams. The Nationals and Capitals have said they have no evidence of their players using steroids.

Federal court records show the 36-year-old Thomas pleaded guilty in court Tuesday to a single count of possessing anabolic steroids with intent to sell.

He faces a maximum of five years in prison when he is sentenced later.

Thomas was arrested in May after investigators tracked a large shipment of steroids to his Lakeland home.

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