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23-Year-Old Man Found Dead In Manhattan Hotel Mogul's Bathtub
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Oct 30, 2014
Modified Oct 30, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Oct 30, 2014
Modified Oct 30, 2014
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A 23-year-old man was found dead yesterday in a penthouse apartment belonging to a prominent hotel developer. He was reportedly found in a bathtub, and authorities believe he died of a drug overdose.
The Post reports that Sean Verdi, 23, was discovered early yesterday morning in a Central Park South apartment belonging to 45-year-old Ian Reisner, the developer behind Hell's Kitchen's OUT Hotel. Verdi, who is from Bay Ridge, was taken to St. Luke's Hospital at around 8:30 a.m. and declared dead. Though the medical examiner's office has not determined his exact cause of death, initial responders say he died of a drug overdose. "I thought it was a stupid accident,” his stepfather, Steven Colandrea, told the tabloid. “So now I’m getting upset finding out about Ian Reisner and how old he was."
Verdi reportedly met Reisner at Bar-Tini Ultra Lounge, where he worked as a bar manager. Afterwards, according to Verdi's stepfather, he, Reisner and a few friends went back to the developer's apartment. It's believed that Reisner and the aforementioned friends put Verdi in the bathtub in hopes of waking him up post-overdose. "I cried all day,” Colandrea said. “All I know is that he was at a party and OD’d. That’s not like Sean. He never had any problems."
Reisner, who founded gay-friendly OUT NYC in 2012, was arrested in May after allegedly driving under the influence of Ambien in East Hampton.
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Ian Reisner
out hotel
overdose
sean verdi
Rebecca Fishbein
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