PROVIDENCE, R.I. — For years, Joel Hoag knew him as Richard Graydon. They sailed together in New York, attended sailing events together and ran in some of the same circles.
Hoag says the alias Graydon appeared friendly, intelligent and quick to learn, but there were things about him that stood out.
“He told us different stories,” Hoag told Boston 25 News. “He told me he was an oncologist working at a private practice. Didn’t know if it was his private practice or someone else’s.”
Hoag said asking Graydon for more details often caused conflict. “If he would tell us something and we would ask detailed questions about it, he wouldn’t go into details,” Hoag said. “He would shift conversation to something else for sure.”
What Hoag did not know at the time was that the man he was getting to know as Richard Graydon had another identity and another life, he was actually New England’s most wanted fugitive, Ronald Fischer.
Law enforcement agencies say Graydon was one of several identities used by Ronald Fischer, who was on the run for nearly two decades after disappearing while on trial in Rhode Island for first-degree sexual assault in 2005.
Fischer was convicted in absentia.
“He seemed to be able to learn things quickly, seemed very nice, seemed very friendly,” Hoag said. “But after a few weeks of doing that, it just changed a little bit.”
Hoag says the alias Richard Graydon hated photos. “You can imagine sailing is a pretty photogenic sport,” Hoag said. “You are on a yacht, you’re passing the Statue of Liberty, all sorts of things. He refused a lot, or if he even sensed he was in a photo, he would say, ‘Don’t post that.’”
Photos provided exclusively to Boston 25 News show the man Hoag knew as Richard Graydon. Fischer’s arrest this summer changed the way Hoag viewed years of memories.
“When you realized that Richard Graydon was not a real person and that he was in fact Ronald Fischer, a fugitive, what was going through your mind?” Boston 25 News Reporter Elly Morillo asked. “Oh, I was in shock initially,” Hoag said. “I was having breakfast with my girlfriend and I was just like, ‘What?’”
“I felt significant betrayal,” Hoag said.
Fischer was captured this summer following a fast-moving 48-hour investigation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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