The Unsolved Murder of Arthur Thompson Jr
Glasgow gangster murdered outside his home
Murder at The Ponderosa
Arthur Thompson Jr — known as “Arty” to distinguish him from his father, Arthur Thompson Sr, known as “The Godfather” — wasn’t a real gangster. He used his father’s reputation to threaten, terrorize and generally bully people who, in his opinion, had offended the family honour, or himself personally. He was a short, wide, flash individual who dressed as if he were a Hollywood gangster — an affectation that earned him derision from the real gangsters of his time. In the newspapers, he was simply known as Fat Boy.
He and his father lived in two adjacent houses on the Blackhill Estate — one of the roughest in Glasgow — both heavily protected and known locally as “The Ponderosa”.
On 17th August 1991, someone — later identified as an unknown hitman called “The Apprentice” — shot Arty three times as he was walking between the two houses, killing him. Well-known Glasgow hardman Paul Ferris, aged 28, was arrested for the murder and came to trial in 1992.
Paul Ferris
At the age of 19, Ferris was recruited into Arthur Thompson Senior’s crime gang as an enforcer — a debt collector with added violence. He performed extremely well in the role —…
