By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer
The 36-year-old New Yorker, along with his cousin Denis Calderon, was convicted of aggravated assault and other charges following the August 1996 beating of 18-year-old Christian Saladino on an Oxford Circle street corner.
While Maldanado and Calderon were serving their sentence of two and a half to 10 years, Saladino — who had been in a coma since the attack — died of his injuries in September 1998.
Maldanado and Calderon were rearrested on murder charges, but a jury found them not guilty. Then, they appealed their original conviction on grounds that they had received ineffective legal representation.
In April 2000, Common Pleas Court Judge Gregory Smith upheld the appeal, overturning the conviction and allowing the two men to go free.
The district attorney’s office appealed Smith’s decision to state Superior Court, which ruled unanimously in July 2002 to reverse the judge’s ruling and reinstate the original sentence.
Smith allowed Maldanado and Calderon to remain free as they appealed the Superior Court decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The duo made regular court appearances while the state Supreme Court decided whether to hear the appeal.
Recently, Assistant District Attorney Mitch Bober learned that Maldanado forgot to take care of a very important detail — he failed to appeal the Superior Court decision in the required 30 days.
So, during a July 28 hearing at the Criminal Justice Center, Bober informed Smith of the oversight. The judge ordered the bailiff to take Maldanado into custody.
“It ain’t over yet,” he said before the door slammed behind him.
Pat and Bernadette Saladino, Christian’s parents, have attended every court hearing in their son’s case.
“We don’t miss nothing dealing with Christian,” Mrs. Saladino said.
When the Saladinos went to court on July 28, they were expecting it to be a routine status hearing.
“It turned out to be a good day for us,” Pat Saladino said. “A little justice.”
Maldanado was sent to Graterford Prison but likely will be transferred to the State Correctional Institute Retreat in northeastern Pennsylvania, where he was serving the earlier sentence. He may file a motion challenging the ruling that led to his rearrest.
Calderon, 35, remains free pending the Supreme Court decision. His next court date is Sept. 19.
“They were sentenced to time, and they should be doing their time,” Bernadette Saladino said.
According to Bober, the Supreme Court refuses to hear appeals in 95 percent of cases.
Both suspects began serving their sentences in August 1997. They were in prison for 32 months, so they are already eligible to seek a parole hearing.
Michael Parlow and Michael McDermott, attorneys for Maldanado and Calderon, respectively, were unavailable for comment.
Saladino lived on the 800 block of Scattergood St. at the time of the attack. He was beaten in the early-morning hours of Aug. 4, 1996, at the intersection of Frontenac and Rosalie streets, a few blocks from his house.
The victim was hit in the head with a baseball bat and The Club anti-car-theft device. He died two years later at his home.
At the time of the incident, Maldanado was visiting Calderon, who lived on the 1100 block of Rosalie St.
The two Hispanics engaged in a verbal exchange with a group of young white people. Testimony at trial showed that Maldanado hit Saladino with The Club. While the victim was on the ground, Calderon hit him with a bat.
Prosecutors called Saladino — who had just graduated with honors from Cardinal Dougherty High School — an innocent bystander.
Pat and Bernadette Saladino, who recently moved to Fox Chase, were happy to see Maldanado jailed so close to the seven-year anniversary of the beating and the five-year anniversary of their son’s death.
“The ultimate happiness would be to have our son here,” Mrs. Saladino said.
The Saladinos vow to be in court for the rest of Calderon’s hearings.
“I’ll be there when they take him away,” Pat Saladino said.
Bober is familiar with the Saladino family, having served as the prosecutor at the time of the original preliminary hearing.
“They’ve been through an unbelievable nightmare, and I want to see them get the closure they deserve,” he said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com