About the Case
Quick Case Facts
Case Summary
On December 23, 1997, two armed men attempted to rob Effie’s Pizza Villa in Reading, Pennsylvania. The botched robbery resulted in the death of the shop owner, George Clauser. In January 1998, possibly in response to a reward in the paper, John Caltagirone testified that Melvin Ortiz had confessed to him about killing George Clauser. Tina Valentin, John Caltagirone’s girlfriend at the time, testified that she witnessed Melvin’s confession to John. These two testimonies were the key testimonies that got Melvin convicted of second-degree murder, despite there being no DNA evidence and nineteen alibi witnesses willing to testify that Melvin was at a child’s birthday party the night of the crime.
Since his sentencing, Melvin has attempted to petition for post-conviction collateral relief (PCRA) six times, and every time it has been denied. In 2008, Tina Valentin, one of the incriminating “witnesses,” recanted her testimony and admitted to being pressured by John Caltagirone on what to say. She admitted John gave her a mask, gloves, and a gun the night of the crime and pressured her to get rid of it. Melvin has attempted to use Tina’s recanted testimony and admission of perjury several times, but the courts keep denying it on the basis of the evidence being time-barred. After the Supreme Court decision on juvenile lifers in Miller v. Alabama, Melvin was resentenced to 35 years in 2018. Tina’s recanted testimony still goes unheard by the court. Melvin’s appeal of this decision is currently pending. He is also looking to get his case reviewed by the Pennsylvania Conviction Integrity Unit.
Questionable Elements
The second perpetrator was never sought, found, or convicted.
John Caltagirone is the son of Thomas Caltagirone, former PA State Rep. and head of the Judiciary Committee. Thomas had a close relationship with several of the judges on Melvin’s case. John’s extensive criminal record had also been expunged and not disclosed to the jury.
One of the incriminating witnesses, Calixto Melendez, was in the middle of his own trial when he testified that Melvin confessed to committing the crime while they were both in jail (Giglio violation).
Mark Baldwin, the DA for Melvin’s case, was cited for “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” in a case similar to Melvin’s (Roderick Johnson) for failing to disclose the criminal record of his witness.
Since the murder, a man has come forward with information about one of the perpetrators: Jesus “Junior” Colon-Lopez confessed that he killed George Clauser. He meant to tell the police so that Melvin would be set free. He died before he could do that. The only person who knows more is Junior’s sister, and she refuses to speak.
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