Five people, including two doctors, are being prosecuted in connection with the death of the series’ star actor FriendsMatthew Perry, who died last year after taking ketamine, authorities said Thursday.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves,” said federal prosecutor Martin Estrada. The investigation into the actor’s death “revealed the existence of a vast, clandestine criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others.”
The actor died in October 2023 from the “acute effects” of taking ketamine. He was found unconscious in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
This anesthetic, sometimes diverted for stimulating or euphoric purposes, was taken by the actor in a supervised manner as part of therapy sessions for depression. But the actor “fell back into addiction in the fall of 2023,” according to Mr. Estrada.
His personal assistant, two unscrupulous doctors and a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” are among the defendants who preyed on his weaknesses, prosecutors said. They illegally distributed about 20 vials of ketamine to Mr. Perry in exchange for $55,000 in cash over the course of just two months.
One of the doctors, Salvador Plasencia, faces up to 120 years in prison.
“Idiot”
The doctor was particularly cynical, Estrada said. “I wonder how much this jerk is going to pay,” he wrote in a text message in September 2023.
Matthew Perry, 54, played Chandler Bing in the sitcom Friends.
A true cultural phenomenon, the series broadcast between 1994 and 2004 left its mark on a whole generation of viewers.
It tells the adventures of a group of happy friends – Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Ross and Chandler – in New York, interspersed with romantic relationships, notably between Monica and Chandler and the interminable saga between Rachel and Ross.
But behind the scenes, Matthew Perry has long hidden a malaise behind his jovial persona. He has long struggled with his addiction to medication and alcohol.
In his 2022 memoir, he said he underwent 65 withdrawal sessions, spending more than $9 million.
He had also undergone several surgeries related to his drug addiction issues, including a seven-hour colon operation in 2018, going so far as to say: “I should be dead.”
In a television appearance shortly before his death, the actor surprised the audience by admitting to having suffered from severe anxiety “every night” while filming Friends.
His unexpected death sparked a flood of tributes in Hollywood. His comrades FriendsJennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, said they were “totally devastated.”
Catapulted to glory by FriendsMatthew Perry has also starred in comedies such as One Night Stand (VF of Fools Rush In) And The New Neighbor (VF of The Whole Nine Yards)