A Tauranga man who died from toxic fumes at a hotel in central Auckland today had been due to appear in court on fraud-related charges.
Mark Lawrence Ivil, 58, from Tauranga, was found in a room on the third floor of the Hotel Grand Chancellor on Hobson St this morning.
He was accused of fleecing more than $4.2 million from a number of people and was expected to appear in Auckland District Court today.
Police say Mr Ivil's death was not being treated as suspicious and have not released any more details in relation to his death.
The Fire Service had to decontaminate Mr Ivil in the room and take him to the ground floor before they could allow ambulance officers near him. He died at the scene just after 11am.
A decontamination zone was set up and police closed two lanes of Hobson St and advised motorists to stay away from the area.
Ten people at the scene were checked for signs of contamination but none needed to be taken to hospital.
Assistant area fire commander David Woon said the toxic smell was confined to a bathroom on the third floor of the hotel where the man was found.
He said the fumes were caused by a gas similar to that found in Rotorua.
Mr Woon added the toxic gas did not originate from a leak in the building but that it was the result of combining a number of chemicals.
He believed one was an acid, the other a sulphur - though he couldn't confirm exactly what chemicals they were.
"We've got those chemicals and those containers and we are disposing of them," he said.
He was confident the fumes had been reduced to a safe level and that there was no further risk to the public. "If members of the public did smell any gas - that's just the residue."