Man Found Dead in NYC Hotel Tycoon's Bathtub

A 23-year old bioengineering graduate has died of an apparent drug overdose after he was found unconscious Wednesday morning in the bathtub of a New York hotel tycoon's apartment in Manhattan, the New York Daily news reports.

Hotelier Ian Reisner, 46, called 911 around 8:21 a.m. to report Sean Verdi needed medical attention who was unconscious in his Manhattan apartment.

Paramedics sent Verdi to St. Luke's Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:03 a.m.

Police told the newspaper Verdi died of an apparent drug overdose but the medical examiner will give an official report after conducting an autopsy. Investigators say they do not believe there was criminality involved.

A friend who was with Verdi, a graduate from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., told police he took cocaine and molly, but cops did not find any drugs in Reisner's apartment.

"I can't believe this; my wife's in shock," Verdi's father, Steven Colandrea, told the Daily News.

Verdi met the businessman at the gay bar in Hell's Kitchen, Bar-Tini Ultra Lounge, Colandrea said. He added that cops told him his son, Resiner and two friends left to go to Resiner's apartment. When Verdi became physically sick, Reisner had one of the two friends put the young man into the shower and then the bathtub, in hopes it would revive him.

"What was Sean doing in the bathtub?" Verdi's father asked.

The newspaper notes its unclear if Reisner called 911 before after he tried to revive him.

"He was a great kid," Colandrea said. "He loved people. He loved the club atmosphere."

Reisner is a former director with Bank of America and co-founded Parkview Developers in 2003. He is best known for creating the boutique gay hotel OUT NY in Hell's Kitchen.

The Daily News reports Reisner was arrested last year after he side-swiped a park car in Long Island and fled the scene. HE was charged with driving while ability impaired.