BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross has announced that a federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging Zaid Mendoza a/k/a Diamond, 45, Cora Waddington, 24, Kelvin O. Thomas, 41, all of Jamestown,, with narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force and coercion, sex trafficking by force and coercion, and using and maintaining a drug-involved premises.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. In addition, defendants Mendoza and Waddington are charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and Mendoza is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Maeve E. Huggins, who are handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, Mendoza, Waddington, and Thomas conspired to sell fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Jamestown area, using a residence on West Main Street in the town of Ellicott, to conduct their drug trafficking activities. In addition, between October and December 2022, the defendants are accused of conspiring to force individuals to engage in commercial sex acts.

The superseding indictment is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department Metro Drug Task Force, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson; the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan DiGirolamo, New York Field Division; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarantino III, New York Field Division; and the Town of Ellicott Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Ohnmeiss Jr.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This investigation is also assisted by the Western New York Human Trafficking Task Force, a multi-disciplinary task force that brings law enforcement and social service agencies together to identify and investigate human trafficking utilizing a victim centered and trauma informed response, was also part of this effort.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.