End of Watch July 24, 2023
Age 67
Tour of Duty 33 yrs
The Vigil Panel 181 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Location: New York Incident Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Weapon: Aircraft; Passenger jet Offender: 19 suicide attackers

Special Agent Bob Castioni died as the result of cancer that he developed following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

Special Agent Castioni had served with the United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations for 33 years.

September 11, 2001 - The Years After

Special Agent Robert C. Castioni Jr. was assigned to the search and recovery at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. He was 46 years old that fall.

He died on July 24, 2023 - 21 years and 10 months later - of an illness contracted there. He was 67.

He is one of 599 officers honored here, and one of 7 at United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations.

The most recent of these deaths was October 24, 2025.

Officers who worked the search, rescue, and recovery at the World Trade Center site breathed contaminated air for weeks and months afterward. Many developed cancers and respiratory disease, and they have gone on dying of it ever since.

Seventy-two officers were killed on the morning itself. Hundreds more have died in the years that followed. They are honored here together, because the same attack killed them all. With some it simply took longer.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son, three brothers, a sister, and three grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-003F4499
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

You walked into it and it took years to finish the job.
Special Agent Castioni gave the United States Department of Homeland Security 33 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Agent Castioni.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Federal Agency
Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usdhsicehsifed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 24, 2023
Tour of Duty 33 yrs
Age 67
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail 9/11 related illness
Weapon Aircraft; Passenger jet

Special Agent Robert C. Castioni Jr. is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In DC, 137 of 1,418 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.7% of this state's fallen. That is 9.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, 8 of 10 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 80% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations
8
of 10 officers
80% Illness
DC — Statewide
137
of 1,418 officers
9.7% Illness
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert C. Castioni Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Robert C. Castioni Jr. Compares

Age at Death
67
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.7 years
Years of Service
33
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.7 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Robert C. Castioni Jr. is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
186
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
182
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
353
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location