LETHAL DOSE

Hard Night Of Partying Ends In 23-Year-Old’s Drug Death At Prominent Gay Hotelier’s NYC Penthouse

Left: Ian Reisner; Right: Sean Verdi
Left: Ian Reisner; Right: Sean Verdi

A 23-year-old Brooklyn man was found unconscious Wednesday morning in a bathtub at 45-year-old hotelier Ian Reisner’s penthouse apartment on Central Park South in New York City.

Sean Verdi, who also went by Sean Gregory, was rushed from 230 Central Park South to Saint Luke’s Hospital after Reisner called 911 at about 8:20 a.m., the New York Daily News reports. He died at 9:03 a.m.

Though a medical examiner will conclude an official cause of death today, all signs point to a drug overdose. One friend who was with Verdi told cops that Verdi had taken cocaine and molly, but no drugs were found at the apartment.

After staying up all night partying at the penthouse, Verdi became physically distressed. Reisner and one of Verdi’s friends carried him to the bathtub to attempt to revive him. It is not clear if Reisner called 911 before or after moving Verdi into the tub.

Reisner's luxury apartment building
Reisner’s luxury apartment building

Reisner, a former managing director with Bank of America, is best known for creating The Out NYC in Midtown Manhattan, a hotel and nightclub that bills itself as “New York’s first gay, straight-friendly urban resort.”

He met Verdi at Bar-Tini Ultra Lounge, a gay bar on 10th Ave. not far from The Out. Verdi was working at Bar-Tini as a manager at the bar.

Investigators do not believe criminality was involved.

Verdi’s stepfather Steven Colandrea told the Daily News, “I thought it was a stupid accident. So now I’m getting upset finding out about Ian Reisner and how old he was.”

Here’s a link to a video of Reisner’s appearance on the Bravo TV show Million Dollar Listing, in which he hosts a party in the same apartment.

Reisner was arrested in May of last year after he side-swiped a parked car in East Hampton, L.I., and fled the scene. He was charged with “driving while ability impaired.”

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