Crime & SafetyUpdated: Nov. 08, 2025, 5:30 a.m.|Published: Nov. 08, 2025, 5:30 a.m.
Opening arguments in the fatal stabbing trial of defendant Carlos “shorty Rivera was held today in Staten Island Supreme Court, presided over by Justice Mario Mattei on Nov.7, 2025.(Steve White for the Advance/SILive.com)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— There’s no question as to what happened on the afternoon of June 17, 2024, as emergency crews were called to a commercial block in Stapleton. Longtime resident Joel Badillo, 41, had died from a stab wound to the chest.
And there’s no question as to who stabbed Badillo. It was a man who he knew for years, and at one time considered a friend: Carlos Rivera, 38, of Targee Street in Stapleton.
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