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A fugitive doctor convicted of raping a woman aboard his yacht managed to build a new life in California under a false identity while evading authorities for more than two decades.
Ronald L. Fischer, 70, a former anesthesiologist, had been living in Los Angeles under the alias Richard Graydon, where law enforcement sources said he ran a biotech company on Olympic Boulevard.
His fake life came crashing down last week when authorities tracked him to a 56-foot sailboat—The Silver Lining—and arrested him as he sailed on New York City’s East River toward Long Island Sound.
The vessel itself was registered under the same Richard Graydon alias Fischer had been using in Los Angeles, according to the US Marshals Service.
His arrest ended a more than 20-year hunt that began when Fischer fled Rhode Island during his 2005 trial for raping a woman aboard another of his boats.
Fischer had been accused of sexually assaulting the woman during a date in 2003 aboard his yacht—the Lion King—while it was docked in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
He fled shortly before closing arguments two years later, but the trial continued without him. Fischer was convicted in absentia of first-degree sexual assault.
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Before disappearing, Fischer sent his attorney a goodbye email explaining his decision to run.
“Although I believe my trial has gone very well and expect to be acquitted and dismissed, the small chance of losing could carry extremely and unacceptably harsh penalties,” Fischer wrote.
“I have therefore decided not to take the risk and leave the U.S. and enjoy life in another country where I have long been carefully planning a good, safe, secure and comfortable life.”
Exactly where Fischer went immediately after fleeing remained unclear.
Authorities said he left the US for a time but also traveled across the country during his years as a fugitive, using multiple identities.
Those aliases included Richard Graydon, Ronald Stevenson, Robert Anderson and Wahler Fritz, according to authorities.
Despite spending years wanted by law enforcement, Fischer eventually established himself in Los Angeles under the Graydon identity.
Law enforcement sources told NBC he operated a biotech company on Olympic Boulevard under that name.
The company reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that he was dismissed Friday for reasons unrelated to his work.
Authorities closed in after the US Marshals Service, FBI, and Rhode Island law enforcement spent about 48 hours pursuing new leads on Fischer’s whereabouts.
Officials intercepted The Silver Lining around 11:20 a.m. Thursday as Fischer sailed along the East River toward Long Island Sound.
He was taken into custody without incident.
“This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability,” Wing Chau, the US marshal for the District of Rhode Island, said in a statement.
“For more than 20 years, Ronald Fischer believed he had successfully escaped justice. The men and women of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, together with our partners, remained committed to ensuring that day would eventually come.”
The extraordinary lengths Fischer took to remain in hiding were revealed after his capture.
Prosecutors said authorities searched his residence and discovered several books about “how to evade law enforcement.”
Investigators found that Fischer had emailed neighbors asking if police were looking for him, prosecutors said in court.
During his years on the run, Fischer was placed on Rhode Island’s most wanted list and described as a “master yachtsman, a world traveler and internationally connected.”
His disappearance attracted national attention and was featured multiple times on “America’s Most Wanted.”
Fischer reportedly continued presenting himself professionally in the medical and biotech world while living under aliases, including as chief medical officer of a biopharmaceutical company providing online medical consulting.
Fischer appeared Friday before Judge Jeffrey Gershuny in Manhattan Criminal Court, handcuffed and dressed in a light-blue polo shirt and gray khaki pants.
He agreed to waive his right to a formal extradition hearing—clearing the way for his transfer back to Rhode Island by July 31.
He will remain in custody in New York until then.
Once Fischer is returned to Rhode Island, the state attorney general’s office plans to seek a sentencing hearing on his first-degree sexual assault conviction as well as an arraignment on a bail-jumping charge.
Fischer is expected to face federal charges for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
“You can run, but you cannot hide from justice,” First Assistant US Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Charles Calenda said following Fischer’s capture.
“Ronald Fischer will now return to Rhode Island to face the consequences he sought to evade for more than 20 years.”
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