An Olean man who was accused of selling drugs he received from a Jamestown man has pleaded guilty.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo has announced that 55-year-old Theodore E. Coffie a/k/a Teddy Ticklez pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to narcotics conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $10 million.

According to DiGiacomo, Coffie was a drug trafficking associate of Charles Washington a/k/a Telly, a Jamestown-based drug trafficker. He sold marijuana, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine supplied Washington, utilizing social media to conduct his drug trafficking activities.

On March 5, 2025, Coffie possessed a firearm. He was previously convicted of felonies in February 2023, in Cattaraugus County Court, in June 1993, September 2002, and August 2008, in Monroe County Court, and in November 2007, in Livingston County Court, and is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. That same day, Olean Police Department investigators conducted a controlled narcotics purchase from Coffie, who was arrested a short time later. During a search of Coffie, they recovered a loaded handgun, and approximately 20 grams of crack cocaine, and two cell phones.

Charges remain pending against co-defendant Charles Washington.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Buffalo comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Emergency Removal Operations, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti. The plea is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Forster, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarentino, New York Field Division, and the Olean Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ron Richardson.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. before Judge Arcara.