An odd place for a Ted Cruz stopover

The Texas senator and 2016 Republican candidate was in New York this week. One of his stops was a reception Monday night at a grand apartment owned by Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, two gay hotel tycoons.

The purpose of the gathering was to discuss Cruz’s position on Israel, according to Cruz national campaign spokesman Rick Tyler. “It was all things Israel,” says Tyler. “They were in a discussion about something they all agreed about” — meaning their strong support of Israel.

Tyler says that at one point in the conversation, the topic of gay marriage came up — an issue about which Cruz, who opposes gay marriage, and his hosts, who support it, definitely did not agree.

According to a report by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, Cruz adopted a “different tone” that night than he has taken at other times when discussing marriage.

Speaking to evangelical pastors, for example, Cruz has described traditional marriage as “ordained by God.” Before the wealthy gay New Yorkers, the Times reported, Cruz “did not mention his opposition to same-sex marriage, saying only that marriage is an issue that should be left to the states.”

Was it a flip-flop? Garden-variety political flexibility? Or perhaps, as Cruz’s supporters maintain, was it consistent with the senator’s oft-stated support of traditional marriage? Cruz will undoubtedly be asked about it sometime.

Besides that, what was oddly notable about Cruz’s evening was the setting. Reisner’s apartment was in the news last October, when a 23-year-old bartender was found dead of a drug overdose in a bathtub in one of the home’s six opulently-appointed bathrooms. According to press reports, this is what happened:

The bartender, Sean Verdi of Brooklyn, was working at an establishment known as Bar-Tini Ultra Lounge in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. The New York Daily News reported that on Oct. 28 Verdi met up with Reisner, age 45, an acquaintance from the city’s club scene. Sometime late in the night, Verdi and Reisner, along with two other men, left Bar-Tini to go to Reisner’s apartment.

It wasn’t just any apartment. According to the real estate blog TheRealDeal.com, Reisner’s 4,000 square foot home, which he owns with Weiderpass, was created by combining five separate apartments. Occupying two floors with a view of Central Park, the place is meticulously decorated and the scene of Reisner’s frequent socializing.

“Give me an excuse and I’ll throw a party,” Reisner told the blog.

Press reports suggest there was some partying going on after Reisner, Verdi and the others arrived at the apartment from Bar-Tini last October. And then something went very wrong.

Verdi collapsed. He couldn’t be revived. According to the Daily News, Reisner called 911 at 8:20 in the morning. Paramedics found Verdi unconscious in the bathtub. He died less than an hour later. Someone at the home told cops that drugs were involved.

The next day, the New York Post picked up the story:

The 23-year-old bartender who allegedly overdosed in the Central Park South apartment of real-estate mogul Ian Reisner collapsed from a cocktail of molly and cocaine while having sex in the shower during a wild night of partying, law-enforcement sources said Thursday.

Sean Verdi, of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, started convulsing Wednesday morning in one of the $20 million home’s six bathrooms during one of the mogul’s parties, sources said.

Reisner, 45, owner of Out NYC, the city’s first gay-centric hotel, had been surrounding himself with an entourage of attractive young men and throwing all-night ragers at his luxe, French art-deco duplex, one pal said.

Police found no drugs at the apartment, the Daily News reported, adding, “Investigators do not believe any criminality was involved.”

The story ended there. Time moved on, at least until Thursday’s Times article discreetly noted that, “The apartment owned by Mr. Reisner and Mr. Weiderpass made headlines last October when a 23-year-old Brooklyn man died there of an apparent drug overdose.”

What does all that mean for Ted Cruz? That’s always for voters to decide. But it does suggest his staff might want to check out event locations a little more carefully. And indeed, Tyler said Thursday afternoon that, “I would say, knowing what we know now about the setting, I think we would have chosen a different venue.” (By the way, Reisner also hosted a fundraiser for Republican Sen. Ron Johnson at the apartment just last week.)

Campaigns are always bringing something new. A candidate might one day find himself announcing his run at evangelical Liberty University and then, not all that long later, discussing issues at a swanky New York apartment that has also reportedly served as the site of druggy, occasionally fatal “all-night ragers.” It’s a very big country.

UPDATE: After publication, Ted Cruz released the following statement:

“It speaks volumes that the New York Times considers it newsworthy that a Republican who believes marriage is between a man and a woman would meet with people who hold a different view. The purpose of the meeting and the primary topics of conversation were national security, foreign policy, and America’s commitment to standing with Israel. On the subject of marriage, when asked, I stated directly and unambiguously what everyone in the room already knew, that I oppose gay marriage and I support traditional marriage.

“One person further asked how Heidi and I would react if we found out one of our (4 and 7-year-old) daughters were gay. My reply: ‘We would love her with all our hearts. We love our daughters unconditionally.’

“A conservative Republican who is willing to meet with individuals who do not agree on marriage and who loves his daughters unconditionally may not reflect the caricature of conservatives promoted by the left, but it’s hardly newsworthy.

“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve seen it, but this is what it means to truly be a ‘big tent Republican’ instead of a panderer. I’m happy to go anywhere to anyone to champion conservative values. We’re not always going to agree on everything, and I’m not going to change my fundamental values. But at the same time, I’m hoping to offer enough bold leadership on a broad slate of issues that many voters will decide we agree on far more than we disagree.”