Editor's Note: This version corrects the location of businesses run by the Mitchell family and includes a statement by Bob Mitchell that his family is unrelated to Sylvia Mitchell, who operated a psychic business in Mystic.

Two families that identify themselves as members of the Gypsy community and operate fortune telling businesses in the region were in New London Superior Court Monday seeking civil orders of protection against each other.

Members of the Mitchell family, whose businesses include Christina's Palm & Tarot Card Reading in Niantic and Psychic, Tarot Cards and Palm Readings in New London, claim they are being extorted by members of the Stevenson family.

The Stevensons, whose businesses include New Age Psychic in Old Saybrook and Psychic Readings by Victoria in Norwich, claim the Mitchells are trying to extort them.

Though female family members typically give psychic readings, sometimes using tarot cards or the palms of their customers' hands, the court cases involve male family members. Ten men appeared for Monday's hearing and sat on opposite sides of the courtroom without speaking as Judge Emmet L. Cosgrove began sorting through 18 applications in which the parties claim they have been physically threatened and fear for their safety.

In one application, Bob Mitchell, 46, of Niantic, wrote that he and his son, Shaun Mitchell, 27, of New London, met Teddy Stevenson and his three sons, Nick, Robert and Michael, at Mohegan Sun in 2013.

"He approached me and my son, Shaun Mitchell, swore at me and my son and cursed us and told us he is new "Gypsy Mafia" in Connecticut and he wanted $10,000 for my son Shaun to stay in New London Connecticut," Mitchell wrote. "Teddy then went on to say that is the new cost of opening a business in the State of Connecticut. If he doesn't receive the $10,000, then he and his sons would kill us and our families. We were very distraught and didn't know what he was talking about."

The families had additional heated encounters, and one of them ended with an arrest. Shaun Mitchell alleges that on March 9, 2016, Teddy Stevenson, 56, of Old Saybrook, pulled a gun on him during an encounter on Spring Street in New London. New London police charged Stevenson with second-degree breach of peace and second-degree threatening and is due in court on Wednesday. Asked about his occupation during the booking process, Stevenson told police he was a "crystal retailer," according to a court document.

Attorney Barry Ward, who represents the Stevensons, and attorneys Sikandar Rana and Richard Rothstein, who represent the Mitchells, agreed to withdraw some of the civil cases. At Ward's request, the judge continued the remaining cases for a week. Cosgrove vacated temporary protective orders that were granted without hearings in the cases and told the attorneys to advise their clients to avoid any antagonistic encounters.

As for the criminal charge, Ward said Teddy Stevenson is not guilty.

"Although I don't formally represent Mr. Stevenson in that matter as yet, I know he denies those charges and will deny them in court," said Ward.

In an application for civil protection from Shaun Mitchell, Teddy Stevenson wrote that Shaun Mitchell was the aggressor that day.

"He was hiding behind a car and he snuck up on me and said, 'I told you to get out of my town,' and was cursing, then went to the local police department and said I was threatening him," Stevenson wrote.

Bob Mitchell wrote in an application for protection from Teddy Stevenson's sons, Robert and Nick, that they called him after their father's arrest and said, "Now you and your sons are going to die," since their father's arrest would show him to be "a failure as a mafia boss in the (gypsy) community."

Stevenson claims Bob Mitchell and his sons Shaun and Stephen saw him at an auto detail shop in New London in 2013 and pushed him to the ground and kicked him in the face.

"Bob Mitchell frequently follows me aggressively when he sees me in the community. He drives by my place of business and honks the horn. He always makes fraudulant complaints to local police departments. He continues to say he's going to harm my family, lock me up and have me arrested," Stevenson wrote.

Robert Stevenson, 38, wrote in one application, "Please, I am afraid for my life. These people will do anything for me and my family to leave the state of Connecticut."

Bob Mitchell said his family is unrelated to the Mitchell family that operated Mystic Psychic in Mystic. That business closed after a New York jury, in a case unrelated to the Mystic business, found psychic reader Sylvia Mitchell guilty of grand larceny and scheming to defraud customers.

k.florin@theday.com