rita thompson glasgow
But the damage to his family's already tattered reputation, not to mention the violent implications for Glasgow's underworld, look set to last for some time to come. For McPhee, the end was always going to come like this.' Brothers Martin, George and Henry Welsh, 24, were charged with murdering Margaret and attempting to kill Arthur in the revenge attack. The trial has to be delayed. However, Rita never sang a note. They could. She received three years in prison for the attack. Arthur Thompson (September 1931 13 March 1993) was a Scottish gangster who was active in Glasgow from the 1950s and took charge of organised crime in the city for over thirty years. The iconic firm was formed back in 1965. Within a few weeks Ferris had been arrested, but Hanlon, 23, and Glover, 31, remained free. The young Detective Constable got out of his own car and ran to a nearby petrol station to phone the emergency services, where he also found Thompson who then sped off. Something went wrong, please try again later. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Extended: Glasgow's crime godfather Arthur Thompson and the murder of his son, The Glasgow crime story of the murder of Jackie Gallagher, The Glasgow crime story of the mysterious murder of wealthy Marion Gilchrist in 1908, The Glasgow Crime Story of Eleni Pachou who was murdered in her work Di Maggio's. Population Served Men who have experienced chronic homelessness Both men were bitter rivals of Thompson. If that was true then young Arthurs decision to take the night air was to prove fatal. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Like any other inmate, he regularly applied for parole and the previously secret documents reflected the view of the authorities had of him at the time. Pensioner dies at Glasgow hospital a month after fatal city centre crash. Thompson in turn was accused of the culpable homicide of Goldie and Welsh. Family and friends must say goodbye to their beloved Rita Thompson (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), who passed away at the age of 64, on August 18, 2021. Michael Beale will be looking for an immediate reaction from his side after suffering a first defeat in charge of the Light Blues in the League Cup Final defeat to Celtic. [5], Thompson also survived two further attempts on his life; he was shot in the groin outside his home "The Ponderosa" in Provanmill, named after a ranch in the Western television series Bonanza in 1985. It was just a way for the terrified owner to pay protection to Thompson. The goal was to protect Kikuyu farmers in their land disputes with the Maasai and local government forces dominated by the Kalenjin tribe. His rivals tried and failed to eliminate him in 1966 when a bomb exploded under his car. Arthur was an enforcer in Scotland for the Krays during the late Fifties, and by the mid-Sixties had established a chain of pubs and dance halls, popular haunts for gangsters. Both men were bitter rivals of Thompson. One infamous recent incident occurred when a member in San Francisco killed a man and his two sons for the crime of briefly blocking his car. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. The grim find was made by the pubs manager who was passing at the time on his way to open up. Head of crime clan Arthur Thompson His father ruled Glasgow's crime scene and was rumoured to have raked in 100,000 a week from protection rackets. Comments have been closed on this article. Kenyans who live in the slums carrying the body of a suspected Mungiki member. BROOKS John to Elizabeth (McInally) on 19th June 1971, in the parish of the Immaculate Heart of. Using JVC S-VHS VCR, at SP onto JVC SV-Master grade tape, tape A. Rita M. Glasgow, 89, of Galena, died Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at Galena Stauss Senior Care Community, Galena surrounded by her family. The lack of a dominant godfather figure means rival factions are fighting to fill the power vacuum, and police fear the violence may escalate further. Copyright 2006 Gale, Cengage Learning. Business reporter with panache dies in retirement. Around 500 bodies of Mungiki gang members have turned up in bushes outside Nairobi; they are probably victims of in-fighting. A few hours before Fat Boy's funeral, the bodies of local hardmen Bobby Glover and Joe 'Bananas' Hanlon, widely thought to be responsible for Fat Boy's death, were found outside a bar in east Glasgow. He was friendly with another legendary London gangster too Mad Frankie Fraser. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Another police file from 1969 said: "Thompson is one of the leading criminal lights in Glasgow with connections in London.". Three years later, Ferris was accused of the murder of the Fatboy who was shot three times outside of his home. In 1988, Thompson had another lucky escape when he was shot in the groin in a demolition yard he owned in the East End of Glasgow. There was understandable media speculation that Ferris now had a price on his head. YASSER FEVER; TENS OF THOUSANDS MOB ARAFAT COFFIN. 'You're wasting your time,' a shopkeeper said. He even threatened to bomb the homes of two off-duty police officers after they saw him kill two men in Royston Road, Glasgow, in May that year. They don't succeed and the trial eventually goes ahead in the south court. The gangster was always the same dealing with the police. 3 - The Thompson Gang . No one man had dominated organised crime in the city quite like Arthur Thompson and no one man ever would. Although he has been dead for nearly eight years, the name of Arthur Thompson still induces instant amnesia or muteness in Provanmill residents. It was rumoured to be fitted out with secret passages, hiding spots, and its own underground tunnel. There was a massive turnout for young Arthurs funeral that afternoon with key members of the citys underworld there to pay their respects to both the victim and more importantly his father. Thompsons name was enough to strike fear into anyone who crossed him. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. In August 1991, Arthur Jr, 31, was shot dead outside the family home while on weekend leave from prison. Supports are provided on site 24/7 including case workers from JHS and medical services provided by Ottawa Inner City Health (OICH) - a non-profit organization that provides health care to homeless and street involved people. Police have run up against a wall of silence, but believe the murder is linked to drugs. He was born in 1928 in Possil, three years before Old Arthur Thompson, a Godfather contemporary, but one whose criminal path diverged into drugs, whereas Norval preferred to do it the old fashioned way, with a mask and a gun in an armed robbery, never mind the occasional stabbing. One police file said: The overall picture of Thompson is that of a violent, vicious and active criminal who will stop at nothing to uphold his position in the underworld as a hard man and to gain his own ends". Rita Thompson, who had throat cancer, died in 2006 at the age of 72. It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse. Old Arthur was less feared than before and apparently had a fondness for booze. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the. When they arrived in Los Angeles, they encountered an established system of Latin gangs and were not welcome. In June, it began a reign of terror against matatu drivers and conductors while also targeting people who defected from the gang. Find local and national death notices, funeral notices, obituaries, in memoriams, and acknowledgements at funeral-notices.co.uk, plus a directory of over 3,000 UK Funeral Directors Comments have been closed on this article. Thompson was one of the most feared criminals in Scotland. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Commuters will have the chance to grab some pre-loved fashion bargains later this month, with the money raised helping Shelter Scotland amidst the housing emergency. Thompson himself had been known for punishing enemies or bad debtors by nailing their hands and feet to the floor crucifixion-style. Had they lived both Hanlon and Glover would likely have stood trial alongside Ferris as alleged accomplices in Arthur Thompson Jnrs murder. Glasgows criminal underbelly was laid bare during three months of evidence and its hard-won City of Culture status took a battering. Copyright 2023 Farlex, Inc. | McPherson wrote: It was straight out of a Guy Ritchie movie and was full of cockney hardmen. In the 1960s, his wife Rita was employed as a singer, with one pub paying a fee of 200 for each performance the equivalent of 4000 in todays money. Glasgow's original Godfather: Walter Norval. As money rolled in, they converted their council home into a palace, buying the property next door and knocking the two together. In 1969 Thompson's wife, Rita, forced her way into the Welsh home, stabbed Patrick Welsh's wife in the chest, and was jailed for three years. The Peddie School community mourns the death of Leonore Annenberg, wife of our esteemed alumnus, the late Walter Annenberg '27. His daughter Rita, who had married one of the Blue Angels bikers (like Hell's Angels, only dirtier! It may be one of the few occasions when the law had got the better of him. Kenyas security forces had to act and stormed into the Mathare region. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP10 9TY. Man charged in connection with death of Neil Canney in Greenock. There was a time when Billy Thompson, youngest member of Glasgow's most infamous criminal clan, could rely on his family's reputation to protect him wherever he went. He was a very violent, ruthless, clever criminal and a real nasty piece of work. Campbell, convicted of the 1984 Ice Cream Murders when six members of the Doyle family died in a blaze in Ruchazie, Glasgow, has, like Ferris, long accused McGraw of building his criminal empire. [7] Paul Ferris was charged with Arthur Thompson Jr's murder and tried in 1992 but was found not guilty and released. In May, veteran gangland boss Frank McPhee was shot through the head on his doorstep, as his 11-year-old son looked on in terror. After a few years of relatively low-key activity, the gang escalated its violent activity in 2007. The police breakthrough came, inevitably, from an informant and many of the gang were found in Norval's Maryhill airt and in the south side under the noses of the authorities, just yards from the Orkney Street police office. However, Rita never sang a note. In dramatic scenes, Thompson and the Welshes both stood trial at the same time at the High Court in Glasgow. On the morning of young Arthur's funeral, a month after his murder, their bodies were discovered outside the Cottage Bar, in Shettleston, Glasgow. Another underworld figure vying for control is a 65-year-old Scot, Billy Blackledge, who has been on the run from the FBI for 10 years for his involvement in a 10 million drugs deal involving Hell's Angels from Canada. His death, coupled with the jailing of Paul Ferris on firearms charges in 1999, left a void which has generated a wave of violence. Drag your file here or click Browse below. Glasgow shop owner 'in tears' after store weeks away from opening hit by devastating blaze. [citation needed], Over 300 witnesses, including Thompson Sr,[11] were called to give evidence at a trial which lasted fifty four days and cost 4.1 million, at the time the longest[7] and most expensive trial in Scottish legal history. Teacher strikes suspended as union backs new Scottish Government pay offer. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. Readers comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. Shortly afterwards, he spotted two men he suspected of the attack, Patrick Welsh and James Goldie, members of the rival Welsh family Blackhill gang. One detective on the case said: 'He had been a dead man walking for years. But when I was with Thompson, I was safe and I could have had anything in the pub that I wanted that night.. Glasgow crime stories: Arthur Thompson who ruled the city's underworld for more than 30 years. The continent of Africa is plagued by an infestation of machete wielding gangs, and the Mungiki originated in much the same way as most of these outfits. They just pay someone a couple of grand to go and hurt people for them.. She was a graduate of the Fort Fairfield High School, class of 1963, and had been employed as a C.N.A . The authority's suspicions of Thompson were not unjustified. His closing years were plagued by two bouts of cancer, first of the bowel and then the lung. Also known as MS-13, Mara Salvatrucha is arguably the most dangerous gang in the United States at present and they are apparently the gang that the FBI is most worried about. Arthur was also involved in legitimate enterprises such as pubs, demolition, corner shops, garages, and carpet showrooms to keep his assets hidden and launder money from his various criminal enterprises. All planned teacher strikes have been suspended after a new pay offer was presented by the Scottish Government. For webmasters |, COPYRIGHT 2006 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday. It was common for Arthur to crucify his victims by nailing their hands and feet to furniture. He certainly knew who was responsible but would not be sharing that information any time soon with the police. Disclaimer: Reference to these media outlets or TV shows should not be construed to imply an endorsement or sponsorship of Spokeo or its products. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's View Anniversary. However, Ferris was found not guilty of all charges in June that year after the longest-running murder trial in Scottish legal history. Glasgow gangster Arthur Thompson, known as The Godfather, pictured with his wife Rita Thompson.Circa 1970. Three months later, Thompson narrowly escaped death when he was in a car that exploded outside his house. . The truth about the slaying of Arthur 'Fat Boy' Thompson Junior, eldest son of the godfather of Glasgow's biggest criminal clan, outside his home in the Provanmill district in 1991, has been. Arthur Snr suspected both men of being involved in his sons murder and is said to have paid a hitman 20,000 to execute them. Paparazzi photos of director Taika Waititi getting close to actress Tessa Thompson and singer Rita Ora went viral on social media over the weekend. photos. Glasgow Live. While London had the Krays and the Richardsons to contend with in the 1960s, Glasgow had its own dominant group of street thugs in the form of The Thompson Gang. We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
