Bagman

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title: "Bagman" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["organized-crime-members-by-role", "criminal-occupations", "thieves-in-law"] description: "Person designated to collect money or run errands" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagman" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Person designated to collect money or run errands ::

The term bagman (or bag man) has different meanings in different countries.

One group of definitions centers on the idea of traveling. In British usage, "bagman" is a term for a traveling salesman, first known from 1808. In Australian usage, it can mean a tramp or homeless man.

However, many other definitions center around money. People involved in political fundraising, soliciting donations, or otherwise involved in the financial side of a political campaign may be referred to as a bagman. This usage has led to an expansion of meaning to include those who solicit bribes for public officials.

In organized crime, a bagman may be involved in protection rackets or the numbers game, collecting or distributing the money involved. When acting as an intermediary in such activities, a bagman may also be called a delivery boy or running man, and may receive a fraction of the money collected. Journalist Jack Shafer defines "bag man" as a slang term "for criminals who perform deliveries and run errands for other criminals". In criminal operations involving disbursements of cash as illegal payments for some service, a bagman delivers the money, often cash, to the recipient, such as Fred LaRue in the Watergate scandal.

References

References

1. (2019-06-24). "Definition of BAGMAN".
2. (2015-06-10). "Definition of bagman".
3. "bagman (noun) definition and synonyms".
4. "Bagman".
5. (4 June 2013). "Nigel Wright's role as party bagman deserves scrutiny: McQuaig". [[Toronto Star]].
6. (22 March 2015). "Iran and Argentina: The Defectors' Tale: O'Grady". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
7. (2019-06-24). "Inside the Cultish Dreamworld of Augusta National".
8. (2019-10-31). "Bagman definition and meaning".
9. (18 April 2013). "Shameless paper in mindless fog".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::