Up to 40 years in jail for doctor who sold ketamine to ‘vulnerable' Matthew Perry
Salvador Plasencia, 43, one of five people charged over Perry's death, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Los Angeles to four counts of distribution of ketamine.
Plasencia is to be sentenced on December 3 and faces up to 40 years in prison.
He will also surrender his medical license.
Plasencia's attorney, Karen Goldstein, said after the hearing that her client regretted his actions.
'Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry,' Goldstein said in a statement.
'He is fully accepting responsibility... acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction.'
Plasencia did not provide Perry with the fatal dose of ketamine but supplied the actor with the drug in the weeks before he was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
Another doctor, Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.
Plasencia allegedly bought ketamine off Chavez and sold it to the American-Canadian actor at hugely inflated prices.
'I wonder how much this moron will pay,' Plasencia wrote in one text message presented by prosecutors.
Jasveen Sangha, the alleged 'Ketamine Queen' who supplied drugs to high-end clients and celebrities, is charged with selling Perry the dose that killed him. She has pleaded not guilty.
Perry's live-in personal assistant and another man pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Addiction struggles
The actor's lengthy struggles with substance addiction were well-documented, but his death at age 54 sent shockwaves through the global legions of 'Friends' fans.
A criminal investigation was launched soon after an autopsy discovered he had high levels of ketamine—an anesthetic—in his system.
In his plea deal with prosecutors, Plasencia said he went to Perry's home to administer ketamine by injection and distributed 20 vials of the drug over a roughly two-week period in autumn 2023.
Perry had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.
But prosecutors say that before his death he became addicted to the substance, which also has psychedelic properties and is a popular party drug.
'Friends,' which followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, drew a massive following and made megastars of previously unknown actors.
Perry's role as the sarcastic man-child Chandler brought him fabulous wealth, but hid a dark struggle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.
In 2018, he suffered a drug-related burst colon and underwent multiple surgeries.
In his 2022 memoir 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,' Perry described going through detox dozens of times.
'I have mostly been sober since 2001,' he wrote, 'save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps.' — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Gunman shot dead in Midtown Manhattan, reports say police officer among victims
NEW YORK, July 29 — A gunman was dead Monday following a shooting in central Manhattan, New York police said, amid reports a police officer was killed and several civilians struck, provoking a lockdown in the area. Mayor Eric Adams said on X the officer had been 'struck down' and expressed his 'deepest sympathies' to the family of the officer, although a department spokeswoman said she could neither confirm nor deny an officer had been killed. Police wrote on X that the scene, around Park Avenue and East 51st Street, had been 'contained and the lone shooter is dead,' without providing details about the identity of the suspect. 'At this time, the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralised,' police commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote on X amid reports of several people being shot. She gave no other details about the incident. Fox News, citing the New York Police Department, reported that at least six people including a police officer were shot, with the officer in a critical condition in an area hospital. Police officers deployed a drone near Park Avenue at the height of the evening rush-hour as dozens of officers swarmed the area, some carrying long guns and others wearing ballistic vests. A number of ambulances had gathered in the vicinity and several helicopters hovered above the scene. Police repeatedly pushed back journalists and members of the public who gathered to see what was happening in the normally calm but busy area of Midtown Manhattan. The area is home to several five-star business hotels, as well as a number of corporate headquarters, including Colgate Palmolive and KPMG, the auditor. Earlier the mayor had told New Yorkers that 'there is an active shooter investigation taking place in Midtown right now. Please take proper safety precautions if you are in vicinity and do not go outside if you are near Park Avenue and East 51st Street.' — AFP
Malay Mail
21 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Singapore F1 tycoon Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty in case involving former transport minister Iswaran
SINGAPORE, July 28 — In a significant development, property tycoon Ong Beng Seng is set to plead guilty on August 4 to charges related to a case involving former Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran. This decision follows a pre-trial conference held on July 28. Ong, 79, who is currently out on S$800,000 (RM2.6 million) bail, has been navigating the legal system for several months. The businessman planned to plead guilty on April 2. However, this was postponed after his legal team requested additional time to obtain his medical reports. The plea was then rescheduled for July 3, but was again delayed as both the prosecution and defence required more time to file further submissions on sentencing. The case has since undergone multiple pre-trial conferences, reflecting its complexity and high stakes. In October 4, 2024, Ong was accused of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and obstructing justice. According to court documents, Ong allegedly arranged for Iswaran to fly on his private plane from Singapore to Doha in December 2022, a flight valued at US$7,700 (RM25,372). Additionally, Ong is accused of arranging a one-night stay for Mr. Iswaran at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha, valued at S$4,737.63, and a business-class flight from Doha to Singapore, valued at S$5,700. The court documents further reveal that Ong informed Iswaran that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had seized the flight manifest for the December 2022 trip. Iswaran then told Ong to bill him for the flight to avoid investigations. As a result, Ong was charged with abetment of obstruction of justice. Ong is widely recognised for bringing Formula One (F1) to Singapore in 2008, marking the first night race in the sport's history. Iswaran, who was the chairman of the F1 steering committee and the Singapore government's chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters related to the race, worked closely with Ong in the mid-2000s to convince then Formula One Group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone to make Singapore the venue for the sport's first night race. Iswaran was handed a 12-month jail term on October 3, 2024, for accepting valuable items from Ong, among other charges.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
Man with outstanding warrant climbs US Treasury gate, triggers bomb scare
WASHINGTON DC, July 28 — The US Secret Service arrested a man after he climbed a gate at the US Treasury building in Washington on Sunday at about 2.30 pm, the agency said in statement. Traffic in the area was blocked off as Washington's Metropolitan Police Department's bomb squad, 'out of an abundance of caution,' examined a bag the man had left on the sidewalk outside the fence, according to the statement from a Secret Service spokesperson. It was not an explosive device, the spokesperson added. The Treasury building is located next to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. No Secret Service protectees were at the White House at the time, the statement said. The suspect was charged with unlawful entry and in connection with an outstanding warrant and was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation, according to the statement. — Reuters
