US prosecutors announced on Thursday that they had filed five charges against “Friends” star Matthew Perry, who passed away at home in Los Angeles last year after years of battleing addiction. Two of the charges are against doctors.
“To benefit themselves, these defendants exploited Mr. Perry’s addiction problems. They were aware of the error of their ways.
US Attorney Martin Estrada stated, “They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyway.”
Among the five are the actor’s assistant and two doctors.
“In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than caring for his well-being.”
Salvador Plasencia, one of the doctors, could spend up to 120 years in federal jail, according to Estrada.
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In October of last year, Perry, who portrayed Chandler Bing on the popular TV comedy from 1994 to 2004, was discovered unconscious in his swimming pool. This discovery sparked an international outpouring of sympathy from fans and coworkers. Perry was 54 years old.
According to an autopsy, “the acute effects of ketamine,” a controlled substance that the recovering addict was presumably receiving as part of monitored therapy, were the cause of his death.
A considerable level was discovered in his bloodstream, while only trace levels were discovered in his stomach.
The specifics of the actor’s drug acquisition—who had allegedly gone several days without a supervised infusion session—became the focus of a formal inquiry, with Los Angeles police announcing in May that they were looking into the matter.
Doctors and veterinarians often employ ketamine as an anesthetic, and researchers have explored its use as a treatment for depression. Underground users take it illicitly for its hallucinogenic effects.
“Friends,” which followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, drew a massive global following and made megastars of previously unknown actors who became a fixture in the lives of millions of viewers.
One of the biggest draws was Perry’s Chandler character, a sarcastic 20-something-year-old who resisted growing up.
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Perry’s comic talent brought him fabulous wealth, but hid a darkness that left him struggling with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.
In 2018 he suffered a burst colon, related to drug usage, and underwent multiple surgeries.
In his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” published in 2022, Perry described going through detox dozens of times. He dedicated the book to “all of the sufferers out there,” and wrote in the prologue: “I should be dead.”
“I have mostly been sober since 2001,” he wrote, “save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps over the years.”
His sudden death last year drew shocked reactions from Hollywood A-listers, his costars, and “Friends” fans worldwide.
“Oh boy this one has cut deep,” said Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel on the show.