A former anesthesiologist who spent more than two decades as a fugitive has been taken into custody off the coast of New Jersey.
Ronald L. Fischer, one of Rhode Island's longest-wanted fugitives, fled the state in 2005 during his trial for first-degree sexual assault. A jury later convicted him in absentia after he failed to return to court.
Investigators tracked Fischer to New York, where he was operating a 56-foot sailboat registered under the alias "Richard Graydon." Law enforcement intercepted the vessel off the New Jersey coast and took him into custody without incident.
The operation involved deputy U.S. marshals, FBI agents, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel. Fischer was transported to a Coast Guard station on Staten Island and turned over to federal and local authorities.
Officials described the arrest as the culmination of a multi-state effort led by the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force. The investigation spanned more than 20 years and included coordination among federal, state, and local agencies.
Authorities credited persistent work by generations of investigators with bringing the case to a close. State police noted that both current and retired troopers pursued the matter across two decades in pursuit of justice for the victim.
Fischer had been living under an assumed identity prior to his capture. The arrest concludes one of Rhode Island's longest-running fugitive investigations.
