Matthew Perry’s death will expose Hollywood’s drug trade

The death of Matthew Perry is likely to bring to light the dark side of drug trafficking in Hollywood – some well-known names are also involved in the investigation into the fatal ketamine overdose of the “Friends” star.

Page Six was told that the LAPD – which is leading the criminal investigation along with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – is currently preparing for a press conference to announce possible charges, which could include manslaughter.

Aside from Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Brooke Mueller, who was questioned by police about her friendship with Perry – but was not accused of any wrongdoing – we have learned the identity of an actress involved in the investigation.

This B-list celebrity was very close to Perry for many years and the two even appeared on screen together. They also posed for a photo together in the office of a doctor who allegedly prescribes ketamine.

When we reached the doctor’s office this week, we were told they had never seen Perry as a patient, adding, “We are not speaking to any law enforcement authorities about any cases at this time.”

The police may be after the actress’ cell phone, as a source told InTouch magazine: “I am 100 percent sure that the feds will find the text messages between the two, which will reveal a lot of information that could be helpful in their investigation.”

Former CIA and FBI special agent Tracy Walder told Page Six that several people could face charges. She explained that there has been a huge increase in the number of drug rings committing mail fraud and sending prescription drugs through the mail, which is a federal offense.

“The question is what were they planning to do,” she said. “They obviously knew what they were doing (dealing drugs) was wrong. But did they also know that getting the drugs would get him killed?”

Walder said there could be a manslaughter charge, which could result in a prison sentence of up to five years, but there could be no murder charges because Perry took the ketamine himself.

“Using the mail to commit crimes is more common than you think,” Walder says. “People pay a lot of money to buy drugs…let’s say someone gets a legal prescription for ketamine and maybe has to pay $20 to the insurance company, then they decide to sell the prescription for $10,000 because this junkie needs it and they know they have the money. There’s a lot of money to be made there.”

“There are whole networks, which is really worrying. It’s now easier to get drugs through the mail than through a false identity.”

Walder also said Perry may have exchanged prescriptions with friends and assigned an assistant to pick up the medications.

“He could have easily gotten the drugs through friends. ‘If you give me money, I’ll give you my prescription.’ There’s a whole market for that,” she said.

“It’s incredibly sad, I feel sorry for Matthew Perry … (but) the people who took advantage of his weakness are problematic – I would like to see the people who supplied him with drugs convicted of a serious crime, something that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.”

Marty Singer, the veteran Hollywood attorney who worked with Perry for decades and still works with his estate, told Page Six: “I was dealing with Matthew shortly before he died, he seemed completely clean, but I had concerns when I heard about his ketamine use.

“Anyone involved in the inappropriate use of ketamine on Matthew should be prosecuted.”

Despite reports that Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, the legendary host of NBC’s true crime show “Dateline,” is cooperating with the investigation, Morrison told us this week, “That’s nonsense… the very idea that I’m cooperating with the investigation is nonsense.”

The death of his stepson has certainly hit 77-year-old Morrison, who is married to Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, hard.

“It’s with you every day. It’s with you all the time,” he told Hoda Kotb on the “Today” show in March.

Perry was found unconscious in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles and was pronounced dead on October 28 last year. Morrison was photographed arriving at the scene with his wife that same evening.

“It’s especially (not easy) for his mother,” Morrison said. “Towards the end of his life, they were closer than I’d seen them in decades, and they were constantly texting each other, and he told her things that most middle-aged men don’t tell their mothers.”

The Los Angeles County coroner said the level of ketamine in Perry’s body was high – the range used in general anesthesia during surgery.

Although he had received ketamine infusion therapy, the last known session did not contribute to his death as it occurred approximately a week and a half before his death.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said: “Many doctors swear by ketamine, but it is an abused party drug.

“It produces euphoria and is dissociative. It allows you to party and detach yourself from reality. Originally it was a sedative for horses. Only veterinarians used it. It became popular just before the pandemic.”

The autopsy report listed drowning, coronary heart disease and the effects of buprenorphine – a drug used to treat opioid addiction – as factors contributing to his death.

A source who knew Perry for decades told us that in phone conversations before his death, he seemed sober and “awake.” “When Matthew died, I knew immediately, before it was revealed, that ketamine was behind it,” the source said.

“I was very close to him and when he started ketamine he told me, ‘This is fantastic’. He wanted to do business with a guy and of course this guy gave him as much as he wanted. But you can’t do that with an addict, it was horrible.

“I think he got it without even seeing a doctor, it was like Anna Nicole Smith.”

The source pointed out that there are many “Doctor Feelgoods” in LA who administer narcotics to known drug addicts. At the time of his death, Perry, who rose to fame as the witty Chandler Bing in “Friends,” was said to have been accompanied by a nursing team, as well as senior assistant Kenny Iwamasa, who reportedly found him, and a security team.

The team also included a “sobriety coach,” Morgan Moses, who is called “Erin” in Perry’s memoir and is seen in a photo on his Instagram at his Malibu home. However, according to the Daily Mail, she quit in March 2022, claiming he threw her against a wall during an argument.

“Morgan tried her best, really, really,” a source close to the industry told us, revealing that she was by Perry’s side as he wrote his book, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, sometimes while drunk. “But she couldn’t save Matty.”

Page for Six has contacted both Moses and Iwamasa for comment.

Perry told the New York Times that he spent about $9 million on his recovery efforts, including 15 stays in rehab.

It is believed that he met Charlie Sheen’s ex Brooke Mueller in a rehab clinic.

Sheen, 58, was granted custody of their 14-year-old twin sons Max and Bob in January, while Mueller, 46, continues to struggle with sobriety. Page Six has learned that she is in rehab in Malibu. Although Mueller was not handcuffed or arrested, authorities confiscated an iPhone and laptop from her. Sources told InTouch that she is adamant that she had nothing to do with Perry’s death.

When asked about her friendship with Perry and her involvement in the police investigation, her brother Scott Mueller told us, “I can’t really talk about it without Brooke’s permission.”

Attorney Gregory J. Pedrick, who has represented Charlie for years, told InTouch: “I believe that Ms. Mueller’s past decisions may have enabled her to provide casual, anecdotal background information to the authorities investigating Mr. Perry’s death. That’s all.”

This week, it was revealed that Perry left just over $1.5 million in cash in his bank account after his death. The actor, whose net worth was estimated at $120 million at the time of his death, transferred the rest of his fortune to a trust he set up in 2009.

Beneficiaries of Perry’s will, listed in the trust, include his father John Perry, his mother Suzanne Morrison, his half-sister Caitlin Morrison and his ex-girlfriend Rachel Dunn. Perry was never married and had no children.

Jennifer Aniston recently broke down in tears while speaking to Variety about him, and Courtney Cox told CBS in May, “He visits me a lot when we believe in it,” she added, then said, “I talk to my mom, my dad and Matthew.”

“I feel like there are a lot of people guiding us. I feel, yes, I feel that Matthew is definitely there,” she added.