By Shereen Siewert
A former Green Bay Packer and Wisconsin Badger football player is facing criminal charges in Wausau, after three calls to his home in a roughly two-week span.
Bill Ferrario, 44, was drafted in 2001 by Green Bay. He also played for Washington and for the Carolina Panthers before his retirement from professional football in 2005.
Jail records show Ferrario was taken into custody Tuesday and is due for a court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
Police responded three times to Ferrario’s Aspen Grove Lane Home since Dec. 20, according to court documents. In the first call, Ferrario was accused of grabbing a woman’s wrist, but no criminal charges were filed. Then on Jan. 2, police responded again to the home for a report Ferrario was intoxicated and argumentative, frightening two women in the home. An officer transported Ferrario to a hotel for the night, with no charges filed.
But on Jan. 3, police were once again summoned to the home after Ferrario allegedly entered the garage before throwing items and screaming profanity when he found the door to the home was locked. The two women inside the home told police they feared for their safety. This time, Ferrario was arrested and taken to the Marathon County Jail. He faces misdemeanor disorderly conduct-domestic abuse charges, in a case filed the following day.
Ferrario was already facing criminal charges connected to an Oct. 12 town of Wausau crash. Then, a preliminary breath test showed he was driving with a blood alcohol concentration nearly three times the legal limit when he crashed his vehicle just before noon on Hwy. X near Hwy. 52. Ferrario, who allegedly told investigators he had ingested a “half to a third liter bottle of vodka” between 4:30 a.m. and the time of the crash, was not injured but was entrapped in the vehicle.
The PBT taken at the scene showed a result of 0.222, court records show. Ferrario, who was previously convicted in 2020 of drunken driving, now faces a misdemeanor charge of second-offense OWI
Ferrario was a fourth-round selection and 201st overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers, remaining through the 2002 season where he saw action in all 16 games. Waived by Green Bay in 2003, Ferrario signed with Washington in 2004 only to be released the same year. He signed with the Carolina Panthers on November 11, 2004 but did not play in any games that season. Farrario was released the following August. As a Badger, he was a second-team All Big 10 guard and started all 50 games of his college career.
An initial appearance is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday.
