Florida Megachurch Pastor Zachery Tims, Jr. was found dead in his upscale hotel room in New York City on Thursday, according to published reports.
Tims, 43, the pastor of an 8,000-member mega church in Orlando, Fla., was found dead on the floor of a suite in the Times Square W Hotel, according to WSJ.
A maintenance worker entered the room and found Tims lying on his back between the living room and bedroom of the $400-a-night suite. He was unresponsive.
According to WSJ, police found an envelope in one of his pockets containing a powdery white substance. The substance is being tested for cocaine.
Tims’ death is a sad end to his inspirational rise from a drug addicted teenage criminal on the streets of Maryland. Tims loved to recount the story of how he was “miraculously saved” and aspired to be a man of God, leading his flock to prosperity and riches.
According to his memoir published in 2006, Tims put down the guns and drugs in favor of Christianity. He earned degrees in accounting and theology and worked at a ministry in Baltimore. In 1996, he and his wife Riva moved to Orlando, where they founded the New Destiny Christian Center.
The couple divorced in 2009, after Zachery admitted to having an affair with a stripper.





