A bag man is a person designated to collect dirty money, e.g. in a protection racket

Protection racket

A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces a victim to pay money, supposedly for protection services against violence or property damage. Racketeers coerce reticent potential victims into buying "protection" by demonstrating what will happen if they...

. A bag man may also be known as a delivery boy or running man. Originally the term applied only to Mafia

Mafia

The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

 members collecting for mob bosses, but the term later spread to use in corrupt police precincts for patrolmen who picked up and delivered bribes from the local mob(s) to the precinct captain.

The bagman may receive a fraction of the money collected. The term can also be used for a person who performs small tasks for the Mafia, such as chauffeuring or transporting goods.

Bagman in popular culture

James Caan's character was referred to as "a bagman" in Christopher McQuarrie

Christopher McQuarrie

Christopher McQuarrie is an American screenwriter, producer and director. His screenplays include The Usual Suspects, for which he won the 1996 Academy Award, The Way of the Gun and Valkyrie....

's film The Way of the Gun

The Way of the Gun

The Way of the Gun is a 2000 American film produced by Kenneth Kokin, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. It is considered a cult film. To date, this is the only film that McQuarrie has...

.
George Clooney

George Clooney

George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

's character was referred to as "a bagman" in Tony Gilroy

Tony Gilroy

Anthony Joseph "Tony" Gilroy is an American screenwriter and filmmaker. He wrote the screenplays for the Bourne series starring Matt Damon, among other successful films. He has been nominated for Academy Awards for his direction and script for Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney...

's film Michael Clayton

Michael Clayton (film)

Michael Clayton is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Tony Gilroy, starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack...

. The first season episode 6 of Law & Order

Law & Order

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

was called "Everyone's Favorite Bagman." In Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone

William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...

's film JFK

JFK (film)

JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...

, the character of David Ferrie

David Ferrie

David William Ferrie was a pilot who was alleged to have been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison later claimed to have proven Ferrie's involvement and that he knew Lee Harvey Oswald. Ferrie denied such involvement.-Early...

 (Joe Pesci

Joe Pesci

Joseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, comedian, and musician.He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks...

) alleges that Jack Ruby

Jack Ruby

Jacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...

 "was a bagman for the Dallas mob." In John Luessenhop

John Luessenhop

John Luessenhop is the director of Takers, starring Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, T.I., Chris Brown and Hayden Christensen.He also directed the 2000 film Lockdown....

's film Takers

Takers

Takers is a 2010 crime film directed by John Luessenhop from a story and screenplay written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen, John Rogers, and Avery Duff. It features an ensemble cast that includes Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, Idris Elba, T.I., Jay Hernandez, Paul Walker, Hayden...

, Paul Walker

Paul Walker

Paul William Walker IV is an American actor. He became well known in 1999 after his role in the hit film Varsity Blues. He is also known for starring in the surprise summer hit The Fast and the Furious. His other films include Joy Ride, Running Scared, Into the Blue and Eight Below...

's character, John Rahway, is considered the "bagman" of the group of bank robbers. A song on the independent rock band The Decemberists' album "Picaresque" is titled, The Bagman's Gambit.

Perhaps the most famous Hollywood depiction of a police corruption and its "bagmen" is in the 1973 drama Serpico

Serpico

Serpico is a 1973 American crime film directed by Sidney Lumet. It is based on the true story of New York City policeman Frank Serpico, who went undercover to expose the corruption of his fellow officers, after being pushed to the brink at first by their distrust and later by the threats and...

 starring Al Pacino

Al Pacino

Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...

. In this film the lead character, based on the experiences of the real life Frank Serpico

Frank Serpico

Francesco Vincent Serpico is a retired American New York City Police Department officer who is most famous for testifying against police corruption in 1971...

, is faced with exposing the corruption of his Police Department and is shown going along with corrupt partners collecting money for their precincts protection racket. Various partners during the film refer to themselves as "bagmen", and significant time is given over to why they collect and what the criminals paying receive in return, namely being allowed to continue in their criminal activity without fear of arrest.