fixer (person)

{{short description|Person who carries out assignments or solves problems for others}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}

A fixer is someone who is assigned or contracted to solve problems for others. The term has different meanings in different contexts. In British usage (and in other Commonwealth countries) the term is neutral, referring to a person, such as a special adviser, "who...gets things done".{{cite web|url= https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/fixer|title=Definition of 'fixer'|work=Collins Dictionary |access-date=December 14, 2018}} Use in American English implies that the methods used are of questionable morality and legality.{{cite web|url= https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fixer|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181003213621/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fixer|url-status= dead|archive-date= October 3, 2018|title=Definition of fixer in English|work=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=December 14, 2018}}

In organized crime, cleaners remove incriminating physical evidence, including the disposal of bodies or witnesses. In sports, the term 'fixer' describes someone who makes arrangements to manipulate or pre-arrange the outcome of a sporting contest. In journalism, a fixer is a local person who expedites the work of a foreign correspondent.

Facilitator

Fixers may primarily use legal means, such as lawsuits 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.{{cite news|url= https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2018/04/13/cohen_makes_nixon039s_fixers_look_like_amateurs_439724.html|title=Cohen Makes Nixon's Fixers Look Like Amateurs|last=Garment|first=Suzanne|date=April 13, 2018|work=Real Clear Politics|access-date= December 14, 2018}} {{anchor|Cleaner}}Fixers who specialize in disposing of evidence or bodies are called "cleaners",{{cite interview |last = Demery |first = Rod |title = Homicide Detective Fact Checks Crime Scenes from Breaking Bad to CSI |date = May 28, 2020 |publisher = Vanity Fair |work = True Crime |volume = 1 |issue = 5 |url = https://www.vanityfair.com/video/watch/true-crime-true-crime-homicide-detective |access-date = February 12, 2023}} like the character of Victor "The Cleaner" in the film La Femme Nikita, or the fictional Jonathan Quinn, subject of the Brett Battles novel The Cleaner.{{cite book|last=Battles|first=Brett|title=The Cleaner|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=n-moAAAACAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-440-24370-0}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fixer |title= fixer, noun|work=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|access-date=December 14, 2018}} 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.{{cite news|url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-apr-24-la-et-judy-smith-20120424-story.html|title=Real 'fixer' behind 'Scandal' steps into spotlight|last=McDowell|first=Jeanne Dorin|date=April 24, 2012|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 25, 2019 }} More commonly a fixer works for a single employer, under a title such as "attorney" or "bodyguard", which does not typically describe the kinds of services that they provide.

In Philippine English, fixer has a deep negative meaning where it refers to individuals who help give government clients a preferential priority or speedy processing in an agency for a price. Some also practise illegal activities such as swindling and selling fake IDs unbeknownst to the client. Because of their work, fixers have connections with government employees in the office they loiter around and give cuts to their partners inside. Fixers are typically found outside buildings of government agencies, particularly around many Land Transportation Office field branches. Due to bribery and scamming, fixers are illegal under Philippine law and those caught are imprisoned for 6 years and fined up to 200,000 pesos.{{cite web |author1=ABS-CBN News |title=ALAMIN: Parusa sa mga 'fixer' sa gobyerno |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/08/01/19/alamin-parusa-sa-mga-fixer-sa-gobyerno |website=ABS-CBN |publisher=ABS-CBN News |access-date=26 November 2024 |language=Filipino |date=1 August 2019}}{{cite web |author1=Radyo Pilipinas |title=Laban vs. fixers sa LTO, palalakasin ng pamahalaan |website=Radyo Pilipinas News |publisher=Philippine Broadcasting Service |language=Filipino |date=1 June 2023}}

Sports match fixer

{{Main|Match fixing}}

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. In the Black Sox Scandal, for instance, Major League Baseball players became involved with a gambling syndicate and agreed to lose the 1919 World Series in exchange for payoffs.{{cite web|url= http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/blacksox/blacksoxaccount.html|title=The Black Sox Trial: An Account|last=Linder |first=Douglas|year=2010|publisher=University of Missouri, Kansas City|access-date=December 22, 2018}} In another example, in 1975, Boston mobster Anthony "Fat Tony" Ciulla of the Winter Hill Gang was identified as the fixer who routinely bribed jockeys to throw horse races.{{cite news|url= https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-sport-of-kings-is-full-of-scum-0000168-v20n12/|title=The Sport of Kings Is Full of Scum|last=Swenson|first=John|date=December 25, 2013|work=Vice|access-date=December 22, 2018}}[https://www.nysun.com/new-york/greatest-race-fixer-of-them-all/7761/ "The Greatest Race-Fixer Of Them All"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823193833/https://www.nysun.com/new-york/greatest-race-fixer-of-them-all/7761/ |date=August 23, 2021 }}, by Stuart Marques, The New York Sun, January 17, 2005. Retrieved January 27, 2019. Other insiders may also be fixers, as in the case of veterinarian Mark Gerard, 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

In journalism, a fixer is someone, often a local journalist, hired by a correspondent or a media company to help arrange a story. Fixers will often act as translators and guides, and help to arrange local interviews that the correspondent would otherwise not be able to access. They help collect information for the story and sometimes play a crucial role in the outcome.{{Cite book |last=Arjomand |first=Noah Amir |title=Fixing Stories: Local Newsmaking and International Media in Turkey and Syria |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2022 |isbn=9781316518007}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.ejc.net/magazine/article/10_things_journalists_should_know_abouat_fixers_in_europe/|title=10 things journalists should know about fixers: Covering minorities|last=Clore|first=Kathlyn|date=February 4, 2009|publisher=European Journalism Centre|access-date=March 3, 2012|archive-date=April 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410072535/http://ejc.net/magazine/article/10_things_journalists_should_know_abouat_fixers_in_europe/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=In Journalism, what is a fixer?|url= http://www.wisegeek.com/in-journalism-what-is-a-fixer.htm|website=WiseGeek|access-date=August 20, 2014}}

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".{{Cite web|url=https://gijn.org/2017/11/16/fixer/|title=Fixing the Journalist-Fixer Relationship|last1=Klein|first1=Peter W.|last2=Plaut|first2=Shayna|date=November 16, 2017|website=Global Investigative Journalism Network|language=en-US|access-date=April 23, 2019}} Fixers have ranged from civilians to local journalists within 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 survey demographic map had 132 respondents from North America, 101 from Europe, 23 from South America, Africa and Eurasia, 63 from Asia and 9 from Australia.{{Cite web|url=https://globalreportingcentre.org/fixers/|title=Fixing the Journalist-Fixer Relationship|date=November 10, 2017|website=Global Reporting Centre|language=en-US|access-date=April 23, 2019}}

Notable fixers

=Business=

  • Alex Polizzi{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qwflg|title=Alex Polizzi: The Fixer|publisher=BBC|access-date=June 23, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8611853/Hotel-Inspector-Alex-Polizzi-poached-by-BBC-for-new-show.html|title=Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi poached by BBC for new show|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=July 1, 2011|access-date=October 23, 2011 | location=London}}

=Entertainment=

  • Eddie Mannix{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/real-eddie-mannix-hail-caesar/|title=The Truth About the Tyrannical Hollywood Fixer Who Inspired 'Hail, Caesar!'|last=Newland|first=Christina|date=March 15, 2016|work=Vice.com|access-date=June 23, 2020}}{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10750247/Mickey-Rooneys-amazing-sex-life.html | title=Mickey Rooney's amazing sex life | first=Gaby | last=Wood | work=The Telegraph | date=April 7, 2014 | access-date=February 1, 2015}}
  • Fred Otash[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/the-real-life-ray-donovans-fixers-behind-tinseltowns-dark-secrets-8707532.html "The real-life Ray Donovans: Fixers behind Tinseltown's dark secrets", by Tim Walker, Independent, July 14, 2013.]
  • Anthony Pellicano
  • Howard Strickling

=Journalism=

  • Acquitté Kisembe – Agence France-Presse in the Democratic Republic of Congo (missing since 2003){{Cite web|url=https://cpj.org/reports/2004/10/fixers.php|title=The Fixers|last1=Avenue|first1=Committee to Protect Journalists 330 7th|last2=York|first2=11th Floor New|website=cpj.org|language=en|access-date=April 23, 2019|last3=Ny 10001}}
  • Almigdad Mojalli – Independent freelance fixer/journalist in Yemen (killed in action, 2016)
  • Bakhtiyar Haddad – Iraqi fixer for French reporter Stephan Villeneuve (Both killed in action in Mosul, 2014){{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40391096|title=Third journalist dies after Mosul blast|date=June 24, 2017|access-date=April 23, 2019|language=en-GB}}
  • Zabihullah Tamanna – Translator for US National Public Radio in Afghanistan (killed in action, 2016)
  • Ajmal Naqshbandi – Journalist/Fixer in Afghanistan. Killed by Taliban. (Killed in action, 2011){{Cite journal|last=Lees|first=Caroline|date=September 1, 2016|title=Under the wires: Local "fixers", who help foreign correspondents on the ground, can face death threats and accusations of being spies after working for international media|journal=Index on Censorship|language=en|volume=45|issue=3|pages=8–11|doi=10.1177/0306422016670328a|issn=0306-4220|doi-access=free}}
  • Sayed Agha – Driver/fixer in Afghanistan. Killed by Taliban. (Killed in action, 2011)

=Organized crime=

  • Magaly Chaves "La Faraona" Ante{{cite web|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/colombia-captures-cocaine-fixer-la-faraona/|title=Colombia Captures Cocaine Fixer 'La Faraona'|website=InSight Crime|date=2015-07-06|access-date=2023-05-27}} (Sinaloa Cartel)
  • Gabriel Zendejas Chavez{{cite web|url=https://thegrowlingwolverine.org/3056/news/former-teacher-accused-of-being-cartel-fixer/|title=Former Teacher Accused of Being Cartel Fixer|website=The Growling Wolverine|date=2022-11-28|access-date=2023-05-27}} (Mexican Mafia)
  • Manoel Alves "Sasquati" da Silva{{cite web|url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/cotidian/ff2510200316.htm|title=Arrecadador de dinheiro do PCC é preso no interior|website=Folha de S.Paulo|date=2003-10-25|access-date=2023-07-15|language=pt-br}} (Primeiro Comando da Capital)
  • Sidney Rogério "Lacraia" de Moraes{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/Noticias/SaoPaulo/0,,AA1384532-5605,00.html|title=ACUSADO DE ARRECADAR PARA QUADRILHA É PRESO EM SP|website=G1|date=2006-12-13|access-date=2023-07-15|language=pt-br}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gazetadigital.com.br/editorias/esporte/faccao-pcc-banca-5-times-de-futebol-amador-de-sao-paulo/129814|title=Facção PCC banca 5 times de futebol amador de São Paulo|website=Gazeta Digital|date=2006-12-15|access-date=2023-07-15|language=pt-br}} (Primeiro Comando da Capital)
  • Sidney Korshak[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E7DF1F39F931A15752C0A960958260 "Sidney Korshak, 88, Dies; Fabled Fixer for the Chicago Mob"], The New York Times, January 22, 1996 (Chicago Outfit)
  • Arnold Rothstein{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/2003/11/09/the-fixer/c1237999-baf8-444f-8bf3-da5776f6fdb6/|title=The Fixer|last=Goldstein|first=Warren|date=November 9, 2003|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 24, 2020}} (Jewish Mafia)
  • Yoshio Kodama{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/world/cia-spent-millions-to-support-japanese-right-in-50-s-and-60-s.html|title=C.I.A. Spent Millions to Support Japanese Right in 50's and 60's|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 9, 1994|last1=Weiner|first1=Tim}} (Yakuza)
  • Hisayuki Machii{{Cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2043575_2043788_2043553,00.html|title = Top 10 Real-Life Mob Bosses |magazine =Time|date = January 20, 2011|last1 = Romero|first1 = Frances}} (YakuzaTosei-kai)
  • Željko Raznatović Arkan (Serbian mafia)
  • Milorad Ulemek (Serbian mafiaZemun clan)
  • John Francis "Johnny Cash" Morrissey{{cite web|url=https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/irish-crime/kinahan-cartel-dealt-devastating-blow-as-key-man-johnny-morrissey-arrested-in-costa-del-sol/1124435647.html|title=Kinahan cartel dealt devastating blow as 'key' man Johnny Morrissey arrested in Costa del Sol|publisher=Sunday World|author=Gerard Couzens|date=15 September 2022|accessdate=15 September 2022}} (Irish MafiaKinahan crime family)
  • Dámaso López "El Licenciado" Núñez{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2019/01/22/ex-prison-official-details-second-career-as-el-chapo-fixer.html|title=Ex-prison official details second career as El Chapo fixer|website=Toronto Star|date=2019-01-22|access-date=2023-05-27}} (Sinaloa Cartel)
  • Miguel "Z-40" Treviño Morales{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-drugs-idUKBRE96F04G20130716|title=Mexico captures leader of brutal Zetas drug cartel|website=Reuters|date=2013-07-15|access-date=2023-07-15}} (Los Zetas Cartel)

=Politics=

  • Bader Alomair{{cite magazine |last=Riedel |first=Samantha |date=March 17, 2023 |title=A Saudi Trans Woman Is Presumed Dead After Claiming She Was Forced to Detransition |url=https://www.them.us/story/eden-knight-saudia-arabia-detransition |url-status=live |magazine=Them |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318180355/https://www.them.us/story/eden-knight-saudia-arabia-detransition |archive-date=March 18, 2023 |access-date=March 18, 2023}}
  • Lucius Cornelius Balbus{{cite book |last1=Everitt |first1=Anthony |title=Augustus The Life of Rome's First Emperor |date=2007 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780812970586 |pages=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yx6gAWWB3NEC&q=fixer |access-date=July 29, 2021}}
  • Michael Cohen (lawyer){{Cite news|last=Roston|first=Aram|date=May 8, 2019|title=Exclusive: Trump fixer Cohen says he helped Falwell handle racy photos|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-falwell-exclusive-idUSKCN1SD2JG|access-date=July 9, 2021|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508001034/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-falwell-exclusive-idUSKCN1SD2JG|url-status=live}}
  • Roy Cohn{{cite news | first = A.O. | last = Scott | author-link = A.O. Scott | title = 'Where's My Roy Cohn?' Review: A Fixer's Progress | newspaper = The New York Times | location = New York City | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/movies/wheres-my-roy-cohn-review.html | date = September 19, 2019 | access-date = November 4, 2019}}
  • David Hart{{citation |last1=Childs |first1=Martin |title=David Hart: Flamboyant banking heir who made his name as Thatcher's political fixer during the 1980s miners' strike |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/david-hart-flamboyant-banking-heir-who-made-his-name-as-thatcherrsquos-political-fixer-during-the-1980s-minersrsquo-strike-2181068.html |access-date=15 March 2021 |journal=The Independent |date=22 October 2011 |orig-date=11 January 2011}}{{citation |last1=Pearce |first1=Edward |title=David Hart obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jan/09/david-hart-obituary |journal=The Guardian |access-date=15 March 2021 |date=9 January 2011}}
  • Konstantin Kilimnik{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/03/russian-charged-with-trumps-ex-campaign-chief-is-key-figure.html|title=Russian charged with Trump's ex-campaign chief was key figure in pro-Russia strategy|website=CNBC|agency=Associated Press|date=July 3, 2018|access-date=January 26, 2018}}
  • Michael Pocalyko{{cite news |last1=Zoledziowski |first1=Anya |last2=Marchman |first2=Tim |date=March 16, 2023 |title=A Young Saudi Trans Woman Is Believed Dead After Being Lured From the US and Forced to Detransition |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/eden-knight-believed-dead-after-forced-detransition-saudi-arabia/ |url-status=live |work=Vice News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317155535/https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg5ey4/eden-knight-believed-dead-after-forced-detransition-saudi-arabia |archive-date=March 17, 2023 |access-date=March 18, 2023}}
  • Keith Schiller{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-trump-fixer-who-knows-where-all-the-bodies-are-buried|title=The Trump Super Fixer Who 'Knows Where All the Bodies Are Buried'|last=Briquelet|first=Kate|date=April 17, 2018|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=June 24, 2020}}

=Public relations=

  • Mike Sitrick{{Cite news|url=https://financialpost.com/news/fp-street/meet-michael-sitrick-the-fixer-you-call-when-your-reputation-is-on-the-line|title=Meet Michael Sitrick: The 'fixer' you call when your reputation is on the line | Financial Post|newspaper=Financial Post |date=October 19, 2013|last1=Greenwood |first1=John }}
  • Judy Smith{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-apr-24-la-et-judy-smith-20120424-story.html |title=Judy Smith, real-life 'fixer' behind 'Scandal,' steps into spotlight |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 24, 2012 |access-date=December 15, 2012}}

=Religion=

  • Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/sean-omalley-pope-francis-catholic-church-sex-abuse/582658/|title=The Atlantic: Why Does the Catholic Church Keep Failing on Sexual Abuse?|website=The Atlantic|date=2023-01-28}} (Catholic Church)
  • Mike Rinder (Scientology Church){{cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/04/former-scientology-senior-executive-will-smith-is-not-a-scientologist|title=Former Scientology Senior Executive: 'Will Smith Is Not A Scientologist'|website=The Daily Beast|date=2023-01-28}}

See also

References