‘Amish Mafia’ Fake: Five Reasons Why Discovery Channel Series May Not Be As Real As It Claims [VIDEO]
It has been one of Discovery Channel's most popular shows, but Amish Mafia is continually forced to defend itself against critics for being a completely fictionalized program.
Esther Schmucker Denies Any Involvement With 'Amish Mafia'
Since its premiere in 2012, several reports have surfaced which seem to indicate that the show is indeed a completely false account about a fake group that reportedly tries to keep order within the Amish community. Added to an influx of other Amish themed shows, many find the situations on Mafia to be completely overblown. To try and determine once and for all if the show has any basis in truth, Enstars dug up some fresh proof that the show definitely isn't quite as real as it claims.
1. Alan Beiler or The 'Black Amish Man' Is Actually A Producer for Hot Snakes Media-which produces both Amish Mafia and TLC's Breaking Amish.
According to Discovery Channel's character bios, Alan is Lebanon Levi's former events coordinator, who is now looking to get revenge on his former boss after believing he set him up and got him sent to prison.
However, Beiler is reported to be a producer for Hot Snakes Media (though his biography information is nowhere to be found on the company's website). The company does however proudly admit to be behind the production of both Amish Mafia and Breaking Amish. His arrest and subsequent jail time in 2013 were also related to charges of drug possession and leading police on a high-speed chase that resulted in a Pennsylvania State Trooper being injured.
2. The cast's criminal records have previously been exposed-but there's still something fishy about some of them.
While most of the cast has some allegedly sordid criminal pasts with tons of DUI charges, two particular criminals still seem fishy. Levi has reportedly addressed his history of DUIs on the show-but his alleged criminal record is headlined as being from the Lancaster County Police Department-which does not exist. The Lancaster City Police Department even confirmed this in a Facebook post.
In addition, John Schmucker has been arrested several times for DUI and driving on a suspended license. And while his arrests have appeared legitimate, his court case was used as a part of the show's third season. And before that, suspiciously enough, his arrest was done by Constable Paul Castline-who later appeared on the show and tried using John as an informant to go against Levi during the third season. That relationship ended when John was sentenced to jail time-but the fact that a cop who later became one of the show's cast members was the one who arrested him isn't something that spells legitimacy.
3. The Cast Has Almost Exclusively Dated Outside Of The Amish Community
The cast hasn't made dating a huge focus on the show, though Esther and Levi have had an on/off relationship throughout the show's run, with their season three engagement ending after Esther caught him in Atlantic city with a secret English girlfriend. But Esther wasn't entirely innocent either-she has had an on/off relationship with rapper Imir Williams since 2013-with the romance making headlines after Halloween of that year, when Williams beat Schmucker, breaking her nose, cheekbone and several teeth. He was later sentenced to spend two months in prison, but received additional time for violating the terms of his probation when he and Schmucker reconnected. However, recently, Schmucker hinted online that the two had broken things off for good, after he allegedly cheated on her. The drama semi-featured on the show, with Esther going English and meeting a man who beats her following the Levi drama-and the hate for the English community led to an abrupt ending of the third season, where the cast appeared to turn against producers.
4. The Opening Credits Warn Fans That Scenes Are 'Re-Enacted'-And Several Movements Have Claimed The Show Is Pure Fiction.
The show warns fans at the beginning of each episode that the Amish community denies that an Amish Mafia exists, and that certain scenes have to be reenacted because they need to protect the identities of the innocent members of the Amish community. That alone has caused many to claim the show is flat out admitting to being false. In addition, several critics have also claimed the show was false, including Mary Haverstick, who spearheaded a recent movement to keep the show from filming called the "Respect Amish" movement.
5. The Show's Own Cast Members Have Admitted That The Series Is Fake.
They seemed like they wouldn't come back after their third season ended in early 2013, but a new season is expected to air on Discovery in 2015, with Levi and several others expected to return-though Esther, John and Jolin are all not coming back to the show. And though Jolin and John have kept largely quiet about the show, Esther has been extremely vocal about her decision to leave, even hinting that she was going to tell all of the show's hugest secrets in a post on her Facebook page, by posting a photo of her daughter, who was never mentioned on the show. In the post, Schmucker said "There is a lot that a lot of you don't know about me or the show. Which will all be revealed." She also admitted that the famous Schmucker family from TLC's Breaking Amish were actually related to her and were her cousins-and she got them cast on their show.
Despite the drama and claims the show is false, season 4 is expected to air on Discovery in early 2015.
