End of the line

It takes a serious dose of bravado — or stupidity — to taunt law enforcement when you’re the city’s most wanted man of the moment.

But that’s allegedly just what William J. Passarella did for days last week before U.S. marshals and local authorities swooped in and nailed him Saturday night in Fishtown.

Knowing police in several counties were hot on his trail, the 24-year-old from the 2000 block of Kimball Street decided to have a little fun, authorities said.

Passarella — who police said impersonated a radio-station employee to victimize a teenager last week — placed a number of calls from his cell phone to police last Thursday, threatening them and leading them on a wild goose chase.

The games continued into the next day with the suspect placing a couple more calls to police, saying he was at a certain location. Minutes later, authorities would arrive, only to realize they had been duped — just like a growing number of alleged victims before them.

But Passarella’s arrogant spree was about to come to an end.

Looking more like a sitting duck than the confident rooster he was a mere 48 hours earlier, Passarella was asleep inside his silver sedan on the 1400 block of Marlborough Street when he was arrested, said Inspector Bill Colarulo of the Police Public Affairs Unit.

Law enforcement had to subdue the suspect because he resisted arrest, the inspector added. Passarella suffered minor injuries "all caused by his own resistance," Colarulo said. He was treated and released from an area hospital.

Lower Merion Police were the first to issue a warrant for Passarella after he allegedly intercepted phone calls from Bala Cynwyd-based radio station Q102-FM on Jan. 20 and lured a teenage girl to his home. There, police said, he sexually assaulted her.

It all started when the 17-year-old girl from Northeast Philly heard a Q102 disc jockey offer Britney Spears concert tickets to the 102nd caller, Colarulo said.

Passarella somehow managed to intercept the call and informed the victim she had won the tickets plus $1,000; he also allegedly asked if she wanted to intern at the station, said the inspector.

Passarella then allegedly offered to pick up the victim at her home and drive her to the radio station to collect her prize, Colarulo said.

The teen agreed, and the suspect arrived at her front door in a silver sedan — the same car in which he was arrested — with a Q102 sticker affixed to the door, said Colarulo.

"He said he was taking her to the radio station in South Philly, despite the fact that the station is located in Bala Cynwyd," noted the inspector.

When the car arrived on the 2000 block of Kimball Street, Passarella allegedly told the victim he had to stop at his house to pick something up.

The victim accompanied Passarella inside, police said. She told investigators she became suspicious when the "disc jockey" armed his home security system and locked the doors, Colarulo said. The victim then noticed a multi-telephone line system. While in the teen’s presence, Passarella began intercepting more calls from Q102, passing himself off as a station employee, said the inspector.

The teen was held against her will for nearly two hours, during which time Passarella allegedly made obscene and sexual comments, offered her money for sex and slapped her on her buttocks, said the inspector.

After the victim pleaded to be taken home, Passarella eventually complied and drove her back to Northeast Philly, police said.

Richard Lewis, regional vice president for Clear Channel Radio, which owns Q102, issued a statement on the incident, which read, in part:

"We commend the Philadelphia authorities and U.S. marshals for their rapid apprehension of this suspect. We continue to aggressively investigate, via our telephone-service provider, all avenues available to us to ensure our phone service has the strongest integrity and security available. We also continue to let listeners know that anyone who wins a prize over the phone is instructed to pick it up at our offices during regular business hours."

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office wasted no time in arraigning Passarella Sunday night on a boatload of charges, including kidnapping, indecent assault, corrupting the morals of a minor, solicitation of prostitution, resisting arrest and aggravated assault.

Passarella is being held on $800,000 bail, Colarulo said, and three detainers have been lodged against him by Montgomery and Delaware counties, where he is wanted on other charges.

"Which means even if he did make bail, he’s not getting out," the inspector added.

While Passarella had no criminal record in Philadelphia, he has an arrest record in Delaware and Montgomery counties for theft, credit card theft and related offenses, according to reports.

Passarella also is under investigation in connection with a major financial fraud believed to have originated in Southwest Philly, police said.

"There has been an attempt to defraud Currency One [a citywide check-cashing business] and Western Union out of about $50,000," said Lt. Michael Chitwood of Southwest Detective Division’s Special Investigations Unit. Authorities are in the initial stages of that probe, the lieutenant added.

Just in case there wasn’t enough trouble already brewing for Passarella, local authorities expect to charge him with similar crimes to the one that got him arrested in the first place — not only in Philadelphia, but in other jurisdictions in the tri-state area, Colarulo said.

According to a source at South Detectives, a Southwest resident came forward late last week to report that Passarella had sexually assaulted her. The suspect reportedly hung out in Southwest Philly.

Also last week, a 25-year-old from South Jersey contacted authorities to accuse Passarella, according to reports. The two allegedly had met through a dating service. The victim told police she went to Passarella’s house and that, while she was in the bathroom, he swiped money from her purse. She also said the suspect tried to force himself on her.

Last weekend, a yellow eviction notice had been posted on Passarella’s front door. The notice gave the occupant until last Sunday to vacate the premises.

By the looks of things, the 24-year-old won’t be returning to Kimball Street any time soon.