Criminal behaviour - absolution in Skyrim

[Frodo-Baginses]

When I played Oblivion there were certain characters involved with the Thieves Guild that were able, for a fee, to arrange for your criminal record to be expunged.

Is there any similar arrangement in Skyrim?

All I'm getting at the moment is the possibility of paying off my own bounty or spending a little time in stir, (losing a few points on some of my hard earned skills into the bargain).

[Tingz0r]

No, I think it just gives you an alternate way of bribing guards. In my experience, both methods are extremely buggy and usually just result in me getting immediately harassed by the same guard right after the dialogue closes.

[MetaCthulhu]

The Bribery perk is useless, but I found that the one you get from completing all the Thieves Guild sidequests works pretty well. Lot of time for a little reward though.

[Dark Spark]

Complete five Thieves quests in one particular city, you get an opportunity to pick up a special quest in that city. At the conclusion of that quest you get a new vendor at the Ragged Flagon, a new fence (Windhelm or Markarth only, because you get a Whiterun and Solitude fence during the TG main story) and you can pay off your bounty at half price when confronted by any guard.