In Memory of
Robert Van Etten
June 30, 2014
Obituary
Funeral Service
Thursday, July 3, 2014 - 1:00pm
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church
10 County Road
Tenafly, New Jersey 07670
201-568-0545
THE PORT AUTHORITY OF
NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY
PORT AUTHORITY NEWS BULLETIN
Office of the Executive
Director
Bulletin #14-06
July 1, 2014
Deb and I were saddened to learn of the passing of
Robert Van Etten. Bob served as Inspector General, a
role he held since joining the Port Authority in 1996.
Throughout his tenure, he was dedicated to the mission
of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and was a
tireless advocate for the agency.
Through Bob’s vision and advocacy, the OIG created the
Fraud Prevention Program for the World Trade Center
Reconstruction Projects, which was expanded to cover all
large capital construction projects including the new
Goethals Bridge, the Moynihan Station Development
Project, the Bayonne Bridge Navigational Clearance
Project, and the Hurricane Sandy Recovery and Resiliency
Program. The Office also developed the Security
Inspection Program to ensure the agency’s security
programs were functioning as intended, as well as the
Integrity Awareness Program to educate employees and
contractors about ethical conduct. Under his leadership,
the OIG also assumed the management of three Port
Authority Police Department units: Internal Affairs,
Civilian Complaint Investigations, and Absence Control.
Prior to joining the Port Authority, Bob enjoyed an
equally esteemed career with the United States
Department of the Treasury, where he held a number of
positions, including Special Agent in Charge, New York
Office, U.S. Customs Service. He was a founding father
of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA),
and subsequently the FLEOA Foundation, which is
dedicated to providing financial support and educational
scholarships to the Federal law enforcement community. A
graduate of Manhattan College, where he earned a degree
in Business Administration, Robert also completed the
Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University’s
John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Bob’s great sense of humor, and his compassion for this
agency’s employees, will be deeply missed.
A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, July 3 at 1:00
p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 10 County Road,
Tenafly, NJ. You may send condolences for Bob’s family
to the Office of Inspector General, 5 Marine View Plaza,
Suite 502, Hoboken, NJ 07030.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that
contributions be made to the FLEOA Foundation. If you
wish to make a donation, you can do so by visiting the
FLEOA Foundation website.
We ask that you keep Bob’s family in your thoughts.
// Original Signed By //
Patrick J. Foye
Executive Director
