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A fixer or sometimes cleaner, is someone who carries out assignments for or is skillful at solving problems for others. The term has different meanings in different contexts. In British usage the term is neutral, meaning "the sort of person who solves problems and gets things done". In journalism, a fixer is a local person who expedites the work of a correspondent working in a foreign country. Use in
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...
implies that methods used to conceal their clients' identities or potential scandals are almost certainly of questionable legality, if not morality. A fixer who disposes of bodies or "cleans up" physical evidence of crime is often more specifically called a cleaner. In sports, the term describes someone who makes (usually illegal) arrangements to manipulate or pre-arrange the outcome of a sporting contest.


Facilitator

Fixers may primarily use legal means, such as
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
s and payoffs, to accomplish their ends, or they may carry out unlawful activities. The White House Plumbers have been described as fixers for Richard Nixon; their methods included break-ins and burglary. Fixers who specialize in disposing of evidence or bodies are called "cleaners", like the character of Victor "The Cleaner" in the film ''
La Femme Nikita La Femme Nikita may refer to: * ''La Femme Nikita'' (film), a 1990 French action film by Luc Besson, originally named "Nikita" * ''La Femme Nikita'' (TV series), a 1997–2001 TV series based on the film, also called "Nikita" * ''Nikita'' (TV se ...
'', or the fictional Jonathan Quinn, subject of the Brett Battles novel ''The Cleaner''. In Britain, a fixer is a commercial consultant for business improvement, whereas in an American context a fixer is often an associate of a powerful person who carries out difficult, undercover, or stealth actions, or extricates a client out of personal or legal trouble. A fixer may freelance, like Judy Smith, a well-known American public relations "crisis consultant" whose career provided inspiration for the popular 2012 television series ''Scandal''. More commonly a fixer works for a single employer, under a title such as "attorney" or "
bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers ...
", which does not typically describe the kinds of services that they provide.


Sports match fixer

In sport, when a match fixer arranges a preordained outcome of a sporting or athletic contest, the motivation is often gambling, and the fixer is often employed by
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally tho ...
. In the Black Sox Scandal, for instance,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
players became involved with a
gambling syndicate Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...
and agreed to lose the 1919 World Series in exchange for payoffs. In another example, in 1975,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
mobster Anthony "Fat Tony" Ciulla of the Winter Hill Gang was identified as the fixer who routinely bribed
jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...
s to throw horse races. Other insiders may also be fixers, as in the case of veterinarian
Mark Gerard Mark Gerard (6 October 1934 – 21 June 2011) was an American equine veterinarian. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Cornell University. As a student, he worked as an exercise rider for, among others, Hall of Fame trainer Jam ...
, who, in September 1978, was convicted of fraud for "masterminding a horse-racing scandal that involved switching two thoroughbreds" so that he could cash in on a long-shot bet.


Journalism aide

In journalism, a fixer is someone, often a local journalist, hired by a foreign correspondent or a media company to help arrange a story. Fixers will most often act as translators and guides, and will help to arrange local interviews that the correspondent would not otherwise have access to. They help to collect information for the story and sometimes play a crucial role in the outcome. Fixers are rarely credited, and often put themselves in danger, especially in regimes where they might face consequences from an oppressive government for exposing iniquities the state may want to censor. In modern journalism, these aides are often the prime risk mitigators within a journalist's team, making crucial decisions for the reporter. According to journalist Laurie Few, "You don't have time not to listen (to the fixer)", and anybody who disregards a fixer's advice "is going to step on a landmine, figurative or actual". Throughout the last 20 years, fixers have ranged from civilians to local journalists within the regions of conflict. They are rarely credited and paid menially, which has begun a conversation for the compensation rights of these individuals. According to statistics gathered from the Global Investigative Journalism Network, the base pay for a fixer's time ranged from US$50–400 per day. A map based on publicly accessible research data shows a visual representation of data collected from various studies conducted on both fixers and their journalist counterparts from over 70 countries. Gathered from the
Global Reporting Centre The Global Reporting Centre (GRC) is an independent news organization focused on innovating global journalism, based out of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its model works by pairing scholars, leading jo ...
, the survey demographic map had 132 respondents from North America, 101 from Europe, 23 from South America, Africa and
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...
, 63 from Asia and 9 from Australia.


In popular culture

Numerous films and several songs have been named '' The Fixer'', and, as a genre, illustrate the different meanings of the term. Most commonly, they refer to the kind of person who carries out illicit activities on behalf of someone else. For example, the 2008 British television series '' The Fixer'' is about "a renegade group acting outside the law to bring order to the spiraling criminal activity in the country". * The 1993 film '' Point of No Return'' features Harvey Keitel as a cleaner who is called in to kill everyone and destroy the bodies after a mission goes awry. * The 1994 film '' Pulp Fiction'' features Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolfe, a notorious fixer and cleaner, who helps the protagonists dispose of a corpse. * The main antagonist of the 2000 novel ''
Void Moon ''Void Moon'' is the ninth novel by American crime author Michael Connelly. It was released in the UK in 2000 and was the third of Connelly's books not to follow the character Harry Bosch. It was also his first novel to feature a female protag ...
'' is a near-psychotic fixer who cleans and investigates a murder in his employer's casino. * A BBC Two documentary '' Alex Polizzi: The Fixer'' features a fixer in the benign British sense – a consultant who helps to turn around failing businesses. * The 2000 crime picture '' The Way of the Gun'' has James Caan as a fixer known as Joe Sarno, a "Bagman". * The 2007 film '' Michael Clayton'' stars George Clooney as a fixer who works for a prestigious law firm and uses his connections and knowledge of legal loopholes to help his clients. * In Canadian writer Linden MacIntyre's award-winning 2009 novel ''
The Bishop's Man ''The Bishop's Man'' is a novel by Canadian writer Linden MacIntyre, published in August 2009. The story follows a Roman Catholic priest and former fixer for the Diocese of Antigonish named Fr. Duncan MacAskill. After years of quietly resolvin ...
'', the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
is a guilt-ridden Roman Catholic priest and former fixer for the Diocese of Antigonish named Fr. Duncan MacAskill. After years of quietly resolving potential scandals involving the misdeeds of Diocesan priests, Fr. MacAskill has been assigned by his Bishop to a remote rural parish on Cape Breton Island,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...
, and ordered to maintain a low profile. While at his new parish, Fr. MacAskill begins spiritually counselling the son of a childhood friend, who suspects that his son was molested by the previous parish priest. Deeply moved by the boy's pain, Fr. MacAskill begins to seriously question his own past and the morality of acting as a fixer of such cases. MacIntyre's novel was inspired by the 2007
sexual abuse scandal in Antigonish diocese There have been various cases of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Antigonish on the part of Roman Catholic clergy. 1950s cases On 7 August 2009, Bishop Raymond Lahey announced that the Diocese of Antigonish had reached a $15 million settlement in a ...
. * In the ABC drama '' Scandal'', the main character Olivia Pope (portrayed by Kerry Washington) was a fixer and head of Pope and Associates, a crisis management organization that fixed political scandals and cleaned up crimes. Kerry Washington's character, Olivia Pope, is partially based on former George H. W. Bush administration press aide Judy Smith, who serves as a co-executive producer. * The Netflix series '' House of Cards'' featured Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper, a fixer for politician Frank Underwood. * In the AMC TV series '' Breaking Bad'', the character
Mike Ehrmantraut Michael Ehrmantraut () is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'' and its spinoff prequel ''Better Call Saul'', portrayed by Jonathan Banks. Mike is a former Philadelphia police officer who works for Gus Fring—and, on occasion, Saul Goodm ...
played by Jonathan Banks was the cleaner for Gustavo Fring's operations, later reprising the role in the series' prequel spinoff, '' Better Call Saul''. * The TV series '' Ray Donovan'' follows the eponymous character, played by Liev Schrieber, a Los Angeles-based fixer for celebrity clients. The character was inspired by a variety of Hollywood fixers such as Eddie Mannix and
Fred Otash Fred Otash (January 6, 1922 – October 5, 1992) was a Los Angeles police officer, private investigator, author, and a WWII Marine veteran, who became known as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood fixer (person), fixer, while operating as its "m ...
. * The 2016 Coen brothers' film '' Hail, Caesar!'', satirizes the American film industry of the 1950s, and is very loosely inspired by Eddie Mannix's career as a Hollywood studio executive and fixer. In the film, actor Josh Brolin portrayed Mannix, who is shown scrambling to quietly resolve the kidnapping of an A-list leading man, while battling to keep multiple thinly fictionalized send-ups of real Hollywood scandals of the era out of the tabloids. Behind it all, however, Mannix depicted as a devout, if sinful and unconventional,
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
family man with two children and a doting homemaker wife named Connie Mannix (
Alison Pill Alison Pill (born November 27, 1985) is a Canadian actress. A former child actress, Pill began her career at age 12, appearing in numerous films and television series. She transitioned to adult roles and her breakthrough came with the television ...
). * The 2016 Romanian drama '' The Fixer'' and the 2009 documentary '' Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi'' are each about journalistic fixers. * In the Ubisoft videogame '' Watch Dogs'', enemy players are known as fixers, and players can get contracts to eliminate other players, or carry out illegal jobs in game. * In several
cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian Futurism, futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life, lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial in ...
-themed tabletop role-playing games such as '' Shadowrun'' and Mike Pondsmith's ''Cyberpunk'', fixers are intermediaries between clients and mercenaries, "well-connected fencers, smugglers, and information brokers who apply their trade on the black market," connecting mercenaries to jobs they prefer to take and other mercenaries in the network they can work with.


Notable fixers


Business

* Alex Polizzi


Entertainment

* Eddie Mannix *
Fred Otash Fred Otash (January 6, 1922 – October 5, 1992) was a Los Angeles police officer, private investigator, author, and a WWII Marine veteran, who became known as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood fixer (person), fixer, while operating as its "m ...
"The real-life Ray Donovans: Fixers behind Tinseltown's dark secrets", by Tim Walker, ''Independent'', July 14, 2013.
/ref> * Anthony Pellicano * Howard Strickling


Journalism

* Acquitté Kisembe – Agence France-Presse in the
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(missing since 2003) *
Almigdad Mojalli Almigdad Mojalli (c. 1981 – 17 January 2016) was a Yemeni freelance journalist working for the United States media service Voice of America. On 17 January 2016 Mojalli was killed by a Saudi airstrike in a village near Sana'a while attempting to re ...
– Independent freelance fixer/journalist in
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...
( killed in action, 2016) * Bakhtiyar Haddad - Iraqi fixer for French reporter Stephan Villeneuve (Both killed in action in Mosul, 2014) * Zabihullah Tamanna – Translator for US National Public Radio in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
(killed in action, 2016) * Ajmal Naqshbandi - Journalist/Fixer in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
. Killed by Taliban. (Killed in action, 2011) * Sayed Agha - Driver/fixer in Afghanistan. Killed by Taliban. (Killed in action, 2011)


Organized crime

* Sidney Korshak"Sidney Korshak, 88, Dies; Fabled Fixer for the Chicago Mob"
''The New York Times'', January 22, 1996
( Chicago Outfit) * Arnold Rothstein (
Kosher Nostra Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mob, K ...
) * Yoshio Kodama ( Yakuza) * Hisayuki Machii ( Yakuza - Tosei-kai)


Politics and business

* Lucius Cornelius Balbus *
Roy Cohn Roy Marcus Cohn (; February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer and prosecutor who came to prominence for his role as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954, when he assisted McCarth ...
* Konstantin Kilimnik * Keith Schiller


Public relations

* Mike Sitrick * Judy Smith


Religion

* Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of BostonThe Atlantic: Why Does the Catholic Church Keep Failing on Sexual Abuse?
/ref> (
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
)


See also

* Cleaner role in arts and entertainment * Henchman * Hitman ** Contract killing


References

{{reflist Ethically disputed political practices Journalism terminology Match fixing Organized crime activity Political corruption