Update: Sheriff Has Interviewed Man at Center of Caledonia Threat Case

The man at the center of a case involving a disgruntled employee was interviewed by the Racine County Sheriff Department, but Nikolaus Eusch, 67, was not considered a threat.

According to Lieutenant Dan Klatt, Eusch sent a number of letters, each of which is between 40 and 80 pages, to John Batten, CEO of Twin Disc, to former company executives, and to members of the federal bench, other individuals and companies filled with rants about on-going grievances, but the missives did not contain any stated physical threats against anyone.

Because the letters were sent through the U.S. Postal Service and involve federal judges, the Racine County Sheriff is cooperating with the U.S. Marshal Service. Additional local agencies involved include the Caledonia Police Department, Racine County District Attorney and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"We are doing a threat assessment and the investigation is on-going," Klatt said. "Once we make a complete determination, we can go from there, but I cannot comment further."

Eusch was terminated from Twin Disc in 1974 and convicted of extortion in 1981. He was sentenced to probation and barred entry into Racine County. After serving jail time for an unrelated incident, Eusch seemed to fade away for the next 20 years until these recent letters were reported.

According to police reports, Batten has armed security at his home and at work.