A veteran Wilkinsburg police officer was arrested yesterday morning at the Allegheny County Police Academy on charges of illegally obtaining oxycodone from doctors and dentists throughout the region, sometimes using a false name and date of birth.

Officer Gary S. Vidovich, 56, of Frazer, was arraigned by District Judge Regis Welsh in Hampton on 28 counts of acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.

He declined comment after the hearing.

Agents with the state attorney general's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation said he received the prescriptions from doctors and dentists on 28 occasions in 2005 and 2006.

An affidavit doesn't spell out what he did with all the pills, but Kevin Harley, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said there was no evidence he was distributing the drugs.

Officer Vidovich had a good reputation among police, causing some to question how he could be involved with illegal prescriptions. Some who know him said he had back surgery two years ago and may have become addicted.

According to an affidavit, his doctor of 12 years, Dr. Donald Yoon, told police he had been concerned that Officer Vidovich was becoming hooked on painkillers.

"Dr. Yoon informed Vidovich that he believed that he was becoming addicted to [oxycodone] and suggested that he seek treatment," said Agent James Embree.

The case began when Agent Embree received an anonymous call in October from a woman who said Officer Vidovich was getting prescriptions filled from "many various doctors" in Allegheny, Butler, Armstrong and Westmoreland counties.

Patient information at the Rite Aid pharmacy in Natrona Heights, near Officer Vidovich's home, showed four different profiles of him, one of them with his name spelled Vidorich and others with different birth dates.

A computer check showed he had filled prescriptions at four other Rite Aids.

Interviews with Dr. Yoon and three dentists, Dr. John Mellet of Aspinwall, Dr. Raymond Trop of Tarentum and Dr. Gary Kreps of Cranberry, revealed that Officer Vidovich was obtaining prescriptions from all of them.

Dr. Mellet said the officer sometimes showed up in his police uniform.

All the medical professionals said they didn't know Officer Vidovich was receiving prescriptions from others.

State agents took Officer Vidovich into custody at the academy, where he had been training.

He was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond and will have a preliminary hearing next Friday.

His status on the police force was unclear yesterday. Mayor John Thompson did not return messages, nor did Police Chief Ophelia Coleman, although the department said it plans to hold a news conference today at 10 a.m. to discuss the case.

Officer Vidovich is the second Wilkinsburg officer to get into trouble in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, 14-year veteran Doug Yuhouse was accused of threatening a Versailles patrolman, Fred Hill, who had arrested his brother, Allegheny County police Officer Tobias Yuhouse, on drunken driving charges New Year's morning.

His status is also uncertain. Mayor Thompson and Chief Coleman haven't responded to messages seeking comment on that case.