Man in custody for placing suspicious envelope in mailbox on east side



MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police shut down streets on the lower east side to investigate a suspicious package Saturday evening, April 28th. Police say a man recorded himself putting a letter he says was laced with anthrax in a mailbox before notifying several media outlets.

As it turns out, the letter was a hoax and the man has been taken into custody. FOX6 News is not naming the man at this time, because he has not yet been charged.

It happened near Knapp Street and Astor, and Knapp Street was closed for nearly three hours as police responded to an email they received alerting them to a dangerous package in the area. Knapp and Astor were shut down from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

There were no evacuations and no businesses were closed during this investigation.

A YouTube video shows the man, with a woman by his side, speaking nonsense, placing a letter addressed to the Department of Workforce Development in the mail on Milwaukee's lower east side.

The man then sent an email to various Milwaukee media outlets, including FOX6 News, saying "There is a letter laced with Anthrax at East Knapp Street," with a link to the YouTube video. The man also sent a will to FOX6 News.

The man accused of making the threat used to work at Accurate Metal Products. The suspect used computers to draw up designs. He got the job in February through a placement agency and almost immediately started showing up late to work. After getting into a conflict with a co-worker, the man was fired in early April and the company had not heard from him.

A YouTube video shows the man making a threat against his former employee. As it turns out, the man has made hundreds of strange YouTube videos, as well as email threats.

Accurate Metal Products notified police when they discovered the video, and the man was later arrested after Saturday evening's incident.