inventory · entities · updated 2026-07-25
William Church
entity active p1
San Antonio attorney, paid $500 by Three Rivers Glass to secure a Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan condition in 1936. Secretly already representing Ball Brothers Glass Company; tipped Ball off to the company's finances instead of negotiating, enabling Ball's foreclosure. The central antagonist of the company's downfall, per Charles Tips' own account.
Next action: None.
personthree-rivers-glassattorneyball-brotherscrooked-attorney
Why Track This
The single individual whose betrayal, per both of this collection’s best sources, directly caused the loss of the factory.
Current State
Retained by the Three Rivers Glass board to negotiate a mortgage-priority agreement with a Tulsa lender, as a condition of a $100,000 RFC rescue loan. Per Tips’ 1971 letter: “through a crooked attorney, Ball Brothers purchased these first mortgage notes.” Per Michael David Smith’s 1989 book, Church was based in San Antonio and was already Ball Brothers’ own counsel — a fact unknown to the Three Rivers board at the time.
Next Action
None.
Notes
Do not confuse with Pat Swearingen, Tips’ own separate attorney from the 1922 founding.