VINITA, Okla. – A Branson entertainment mogul has filed a federal lawsuit accusing three men of duping him out of more than $60 million in the development of a theme park, that was supposed to be the "Disney World" equivalent, to be built in northeast Oklahoma.

Gene Bicknell filed a 68-page civil federal lawsuit on July 25 in the Northern District of Oklahoma against Richard M. Silanskas Jr., Larry K. Wilhite, and Stephen Hedrick.

According to the lawsuit, the three men are accused of operating a criminal enterprise that defrauded Bicknell from 2021 through 2024. The civil suit accuses Silanskas and Wilhite of using "predatory and psychological manipulation" against the 91-year-old Picher native. Bicknell says the two used fraud and impersonation, telling him that "God himself was comman

See Full Page