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He was a once-renowned doctor turned “monster,” a fugitive from the law for two decades. The Globe’s Christopher Gavin and Chris Serres covered this twisty tale, up until his big mistake landed him in custody.

Starting Point: How did you find out about this story?

Christopher Gavin: Ronald Fischer was found on July 16 and that night, my colleague here in Rhode Island, Dan McGowan, flagged the story to me in a text message. I jumped on it as soon as I started work the next morning, and began digging through old clips from the Globe and The Providence Journal to learn more about him. I found the court files and started making calls. I did an initial story on his arrest that day, and another one later on his return to court here while we were working on this longer-form piece. There was a lot of information to digest, almost immediately.

What’s the biggest surprise you encountered in your reporting?

Chris Serres: How shockingly easy it was for Fischer to reinvent himself and live a life as a fugitive. I mean, he didn’t seem to be hiding. He finessed his way into a high-level position at a biotech company, joined multiple yacht clubs, competed in public boat races, published a book, etc., all under a false identity. It seemed amazing to me that someone convicted of sexual assault and accused of raping another woman could just vanish and get away with it so easily and for so long. It suggested that with the right pedigree, the right boat, the right social circle, and so on, that a dangerous predator can move through the world without suspicion — and even enjoy a life of apparent freedom and luxury. It’s a deeply unsettling idea. If a man accused of such horrific crimes can reinvent himself with such impunity, then what is stopping anyone else? How many other predators are out there, hiding in plain sight behind respectable masks and fake identities?

CG: The yacht club stuff was really interesting to me. Investigators said they found him on his $1.4 million sailboat, The Silver Lining, which he apparently had built for himself in the past few years. He had fabricated — what at least seems to be — a good life for himself.

One prosecutor thought he would never be found. What led to his big mistake?

CG: An investigator on the case, Elden DaSilva, supervisory deputy US marshal for the District of Rhode Island, told me many fugitives often return to their passions and their behaviors once they feel like it’s safe to do that. For Fischer, that was working in biotech, a bit of a return to his life in the medical field. He was also apparently an avid boater, and it’s clear he kept that up, too.

CS: Yes, I think Ronald Fischer’s big mistake was thinking he could return to the public life that he led before he appeared to vanish — that is, the prestigious medical career, the yachts, the boat racing. It was a staggering display of hubris. But as one of his fellow yacht club members put it, maybe Fischer’s undoing was that after decades of hiding, he felt untouchable enough to drop the mask and simply be himself. Maybe he always felt untouchable.

What’s the big question people have been asking you about this story?

CG: How did he get away and pull this off for so long? Quite frankly, that’s a question still lingering in my mind, too.

CS: The central mystery puzzling observers isn’t just how Ronald Fischer evaded capture for so long — it is how he finessed his way into the C-suite of a publicly traded biotech firm. Was any background check actually performed? And if so, what does that say about corporate vetting? It is staggering to contemplate that someone with such a horrific past could assume a fake identity, fabricate a prestigious pedigree, and then fake his way into a high-profile leadership role at a publicly traded company developing life-saving medical therapies.

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Read: A fugitive doctor evaded capture for decades. Then one mistake brought everything crashing down.

里 1 Down: Baby sheep | ☀️ 91° Humid, too

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By David Beard

️ But is it really the best? A big travel poll rates this Boston hotel the best in the country. The Globe’s Christopher Muther checks it out.

 Staying cool in the shade? Wagner Moura, Greta Lee, Halle Berry, Billie Eilish, Real Housewives, and a Jedi are among our weekend streaming picks.

 Eats: A hotly anticipated steakhouse sets an opening date. Plus, has the BBQ-sauce tasting “The Hot Ones” changed the DNA of modern TV talk shows?

 Blind Date: “We were both a long way from home — she’s from Texas and I’m from Ireland.”

 Book news: Howard Zinn, the “people’s historian,” is now the subject of a new biography that introduces him to a new generation. Plus, here’s a list of the 50 top thrillers so far this century. (The New York Times)

 Leaving the nest: It’s hard when kids go away. Beverly Beckham wrote “I was the sun and the kids were my planets” in her classic Globe summer column.

Thanks for reading Starting Point.

This newsletter was edited by David Beard and produced by Ryan Orlecki.

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