Arthur Thompson

Arthur Thompson, known as "the Godfather",cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/865208.stm|title= BBC News, 4 August 2000 Retrieved on 6 December 2007] was a notorious Glasgow-born gangster who made his mark on the streets of Scotland in the 1950s, and who then went on to take charge of organized crime there for over thirty years. He was born in September 1931 "The Last Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Arthur Thompson" by Reg McKay, p. 7, pub Black & White Publishing, 2004. (ISBN 1 84502 030 8)] in the industrial area of Springburn, Glasgow. ["The Last Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Arthur Thompson", p. 12.] He died in Glasgow on March 13 1993 from natural causes - a heart attack - at the age of 61. According to rumour and later newspaper reports, he did not die in his bed, but paramedics took his body there following his death.cite web |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/special-reports/crimes-that-rocked-scotland/2007/10/19/the-end-of-an-era-86908-19995083/|title= Daily Record, 19 October 2007 Retrieved on 6 December 2007]

Thompson crime family

Thompson began his career as a money lender. He was said to crucify those who did not repay their debts, by nailing them to floors or doors. ["The Last Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Arthur Thompson", p. 54.] Protection rackets soon followed. He then went on to invest his money into legitimate businesses, which grew more and more over the years, making him a very wealthy man. Thompson was one of the most feared criminals in Scotland. It was rumoured that, by the 1990s, he was earning some £100,000 a week as a money lender / loan shark (usurer).

Thompson was said by some to have "adopted" young Glasgow gangster Paul Ferris as his protégé. Ferris was an enforcer for Thompson.cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1927774.stm|title= BBC News, 18 April 2002 Retrieved on 6 December 2007]

The shooting of his son

On 18 August 1991 Thompson's son Arthur Jr (nicknamed "Fatboy") died after being shot three times outside the family home "The Ponderosa". Paul Ferris was arrested, charged with the murder and remanded to HM Prison Barlinnie. ["The Ferris Conspiracy", pp. 181-184.] On the day of Thompson Jr's funeral a car was found containing the bodies of two friends of Ferris, Robert Glover and Joe "Bananas" Hanlon, who were also suspected of involvement in his death and had been killed by gunshots to the head.cite book | last = Morton | first = James | authorlink = | title = Gangland Volume 2 | publisher = Warner Books | date = 1994 | pages = pp. 114-120 | doi = | isbn = 0-7515-1406-3 ] Their bodies had been dumped on the route of Fatboy's funeral procession, so that his hearse passed their dead bodies. At his trial in 1992, Ferris was charged with the murder of Arthur Thompson Jr, with help from Glover and Hanlon;

Over 300 witnesses, including Thompson Sr,cite web | title = Fears gangland enforcer Ferris moving in on Capital cab trade | author = Nicola Stow | url = http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=430232005 | publisher = "Edinburgh Evening News" | date = 22 April 2005 | accessdate = 2007-06-05] were called to give evidence at a trial which lasted fifty four days and cost £4 million, at the time the longest and most expensive trial in Scottish legal history. Ferris claimed the younger Thompson had been shot by a hit man known as "The Apprentice". He was acquitted of all charges.cite book | last = Jeffrey | first = Robert | authorlink = | title = Glasgow's Hard Men | publisher = Black & White Publishing | date = 2006 | pages = p. 152-153 | doi = | isbn = 1-84502-132-0] "The Last Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Arthur Thompson", pp. 266-271.]

His other children

Thompson, Sr.'s daughter, Margaret, died from a drug overdose in 1989.

Another son, Billy, was stabbed and seriously wounded 400 yards from the family home in 2000, but survived. Billy had recently served a prison sentence for possessing a harpoon gun. He had been given two-and-a-half years, reduced on appeal to 18 months.

References

Bibliography

*"The Ferris Conspiracy" (12 March 2001, by Paul Ferris, with Reg McKay)

External links

*http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/861134.stm
*http://www.thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=474552002