Matthew Perry Foundation’s CEO Says Actor's Death Was 'Like Losing a Family Member'

The CEO of the Matthew Perry Foundation, Lisa Kasteler Calio, has paid tribute to the late actor in a heartbreaking victim impact statement obtained by PEOPLE

NEED TO KNOW

• The statement was released ahead of the sentencing of Perry's personal assistant Kenneth "Kenny" Iwamasa on the morning of Wednesday, May 27

• "I had lost my friend, someone I cared very deeply for. Losing Matthew was like losing a family member," Calio said while reflecting on the night of Perry's death

The CEO of theMatthew PerryFoundation paid tribute to the late actor as she spoke out in an emotional victim impact statement ahead of the sentencing of his personal assistantKenneth "Kenny" Iwamasa.

Iwamasa — who is one offive people convicted of crimesconnected to Perry's 2023 ketamine overdose death — will learn his fate on the morning of Wednesday, May 27. He faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.

Perry was found deadin his hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, 2023, andhis cause of death was determinedto be "acute effects of ketamine." He was 54.

The Department of Justice determined that Iwamasa had "repeatedly" injected Perry with ketamine "without medical training," including performing multiple injections on him on the day he died.

Ahead of the sentencing, Lisa Kasteler Calio, CEO of the Matthew Perry Foundation, discussed Iwamasa while reflecting on the lateFriendsstar's incredible life in a victim impact statement submitted to the court on Tuesday, May 26.

In the impact statement obtained by PEOPLE, Calio explained how she'd worked in communications in the entertainment industry for 50 years; close to 30 of which she'd spent working for Perry.

“It was my job to protect Matthew from a worldwide media that thought Matthew's personal life should be played out publicly. I could only be of use to Matthew if he trusted me—and he did, implicitly. Our relationship transcended that of client/publicist. I was his confidante and I was fierce on his behalf,” Calio shared.

She explained that on the night of Perry's death, she sat on a curb outside his home for six hours, adding that she'd gone to meet his parents and stepparents.

“I would not have been allowed into the house and, frankly, I didn't want to go in. I stayed because I didn't know how to leave. I had lost my friend, someone I cared very deeply for. Losing Matthew was like losing a family member,” Calio insisted, stating that she was “concerned” about Iwamasa, whom she'd known longer than Perry.

Calio noted that Iwamasa — who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine, in connection with Perry's death — was a 60-year-old man, not “a young assistant trying to break into the business.”

“He had worked in it for decades—but again, he now had a lifestyle to protect, even if meant harming Matthew,” she said, claiming that Iwamasa “wanted to inhabit and control Matthew's world.”

Calio accused Iwamasa of trying to get the late star “to fire several of those he trusted the most,” alleging that despite that not happening, he did manage to convince Perry that “he didn't need his sober companion or his team.”

Calio said in the statement, “Kenny convinced Matthew that there were too many people around and that he didn't need to spend the money on them anymore. And that battle Kenny won. I was not aware. And from my point of view, that was the beginning of the end.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She alleged that Iwamasa would buy over-the-counter sleep aids for Perry, who she said had terrible insomnia, when the medication he was prescribed wasn't enough.

Calio also claimed that despite Iwamasa telling her things she wasn't interested in knowing regarding Perry's physicality, he “never mentioned the ketamine.”

Advertisement

She alleged that he didn't speak about it, “because his true concern was not upsetting the lifestyle to which he'd become accustomed,” stating that from what she'd read, he'd watched Perry “seize up more than once and never told any of us who cared so deeply” about the actor.

“We would have gotten him the help he desperately needed,” Calio wrote, claiming that although she thought Iwamasa feared that Perry would have fired him if he'd said anything, this wouldn't have been the case.

Calio alleged in the statement, “Kenny Iwamasa killed my friend. His narcissistic, outrageous, irresponsible behavior, his psychotic plan, caused him to heat up the jacuzzi, give Matthew the giant shot he requested and leave him alone to die.”

She said she'd spoken to Perry about their plans for the Matthew Perry Foundation three days before his death.

Calio wrote, “Matthew said he wanted to be remembered as someone who helped as many people as possible, not for 'Chandler.' There was no question that we were going to move forward and fulfill his legacy. The Foundation is almost three years old—our work, in Matthew's name, is saving lives.”

She continued that she'd heard that “Kenny may receive a lighter sentence because he has been helpful with the other cases related to Matthew's death,” adding, “This is heartbreaking. He did not help Matthew.”

“Whatever sentence he receives, it won't be long enough. He will always be known as the man who killed Matthew Perry, I suppose there should be some comfort in that,” Calio's statement concluded. “Your Honor, the world lost a wonderful, kind, generous, sweet, loyal soul. Matthew is still beloved, I see it every day.”

Calio's statement was filed as part of the federal criminal proceedings tied to Perry's death.

Perry's sisters, Caitlin and Madeline Morrison, were also among those criticizing Iwamasa in emotionalvictim impact statements previously obtained by PEOPLE,accusing him of enabling their brother's drug use.

“It is difficult to put into words the sense of betrayal I felt when I found out what Kenny had done,” Madeline wrote in a statement addressed to U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Garnett.

“In many ways, it felt like my brother died all over again. Everything I believed about the day he died—everything Kenny told us—was a lie," she continued, adding: "The idea that someone my brother considered family could betray him in such an unimaginable way is something I never could have conceived."

According to the Department of Justice, Iwamasa was accused of conspiring withJasveen Sangha, Erik Fleming and Dr. Salvador Plasenciato illegally obtain ketamine and distribute it to Perry, PEOPLE previously reported.

Sangha, Fleming, Plasencia and Dr. Mark Chavez — who admitted to helping distribute ketamine to Plasencia — have all pleaded guilty to various charges tied to the case.

Sangha, dubbed the "Ketamine Queen,"was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Aprilafter pleading guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

For Iwamasa, prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 41 months in prison plus three years of supervised release, according to court documents previously obtained by PEOPLE.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

Read the original article onPeople