A Falconer woman is to be jailed after admitting they were addicted to sex trafficking as well as drug dealing.

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced that 25-year-old Cora Waddington pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and benefiting financially from human trafficking. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of life.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Maeve E. Huggins, who are handling the case, said that between October and December 2022, Waddington conspired with Zaid Mendoza a/k/a Diamond and Kelvin O. Thomas to run an operation of sex trafficking. using two drug addicted victims.

Waddington, Mendoza and Thomas sheltered the victims at a residence on W. Main Street in Falconer and provided them with food, clothing and daily amounts of heroin and fentanyl in exchange for performing commercial sex acts for money. The proceeds went to Mendoza, who then provided clothing, food, spending money, heroin and methamphetamine to Waddington.

The victims, through force and threats of force, conducted commercial sexual acts at both “calls” at the W. Main Street residence and “outside calls.” Waddington transported victims to “calls”. Waddington, Mendoza and Thomas used the website Skipthegames.com to attract customers for their sex trafficking scheme.

Waddington was also the organizer, leader, manager and supervisor in the Mendoza drug trafficking operation. She supplied the victims with heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as Mendoza’s other drug users. In October 2022, law enforcement stopped Waddington’s vehicle, which included Mendoza as a passenger. Waddington had an outstanding warrant and was arrested. Officers recovered methamphetamine on her person, as well as a bag of fentanyl on Mendoza’s person.

On December 7, 2022, a search warrant was executed at the West Main Street residence during which cash, drug paraphernalia, a semi-automatic handgun and several plastic bags of narcotics were recovered.

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

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

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

Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2025, before Judge Sinatra.