Tonight's "Amish Mafia" presented the long-awaited two-hour special called "Amish Exorcism." As the episode opened, retaliation was in store for the vengeful acts by Merlin against Levi, who then had him shunned by his church elders. Adding to the mix, Alan was released from prison and blames Levi for his incarceration. Now a new name comes into the series; Freeman, and as Esther puts it, is possessed by the Devil.
As Esther narrates, Levi is the head of the "Amish Mafia" in Lancaster, Pa. He is the insurance company, the fixer, the person who offers help to those in need, and in exchange, he is paid for his protection. As Stephen Breit, Lancaster County criminal defense attorney stated; the police do not get involved here unless they are notified. The way the Amish Mafia, secret society works, is to have little involvement with police.
Because Jolin has preferred not to work with Levi, and John is in hiding, Levi is recruiting new help. Esther proclaimed that with John gone, she was alone. Levi is mad at her, and she is now without protection. John is in North Dakota, and Esther is making shoo-fly pie in hopes that he will return. He went there because Merlin got shunned, he could not make any money with him and because Levi is a bad enemy to have.
After being rejected from his community, Merlin is attempting to get close to God again. He relates himself to the leper in the Bible and wants his businesses back and to regain respect in the community.
In Central Pennsylvania, Jolin has figured out how Levi runs his operation. He always has a non-Amish guy who does the dirty work and takes the fall. He refuses to do this; he saw Alan take the fall for Levi, and he does not want this for himself. He is spending time at a hunting cabin and clearing his head. Jolin got a call from a friend who knows a woman who needs help. She wants a divorce from her husband, which is against Amish law. Jolin agrees to get involved. He agreed to pick her up and take her to Lancaster.
A new face comes to meet Levi; his name is Caleb, and he agrees to help him out. He was raised in a Brethren Church, similar to the Amish, with many restrictions, but allowed to drive cars and have electricity in their homes. He has a rap sheet and according to Breit and shuns all authority. Levi asks if he speaks Dutch, and he can, but rarely uses it. Levi does not trust anyone who does not speak Dutch. Caleb has worked with horses; he knows construction and is not afraid of dirty work. Caleb promises Levi that he can be trusted, and Levi agrees to give him a try. They have an Amish guy who was swindled out of his horse by an Englishman and he sends Caleb to get the horse.
During the winter months, Amish life is difficult. The animals need to be kept in the barn and constantly fed and kept clean. They rely on coal and wood for heat as related by both Merlin and Alan. When the producer asked Levi what the Amish did in winter, he replied; "make babies." Alan heard that some people have relations with their farm animals because they are sexually repressed and only know their family and their animals.
Alvin was sent by Levi to Sarasota, Fla. to an Amish community called Pinecraft. A man came to Levi for money because he has a sick wife. Levi gave him the money, then he went to Florida and left his sick wife at home. Alvin was sent to bring him back, and Levi wants his money back and will see to it that he takes care of his wife. Many young people go there during the winter months to party and act like anything but Amish, but many elderly go there too, rather than face the bad northern winters.
As Alvin looks for this person named Jonas; Alan continues to relate how he wants revenge against Levi.
In Minot, N.D., John frolics with his dog in the freezing cold. Esther just got off the train to visit her brother with the shoo-fly pie and realizes how much colder it is there. John relates that he has three brothers and a cousin there. John is working in construction and doing better than when he worked for Levi. When Esther knocked on the door, John was shocked to see her. She told him how much she missed him and how she needed him. She also told him that Levi believed that he won the battle by having Merlin shunned.
John told her that if he came home, he would need extra muscle; he cannot do it alone. He stated that Freeman was there with him. He is their younger brother, although family, he scares Esther, who believes that he is possessed by the Devil. In 2008, Freeman was banished from the Amish community in Lancaster for good, because he pulled a knife on their parents. He then fled to North Dakota, but was charged with harassment according to Breit. John believes that Freeman is much calmer than he was before, but Esther has her druthers. John believes that if he came back to Lancaster, he would make a good enforcer. Esther agrees to go with John to see Freeman. To be continued in part 2.
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