A member of the Republican Party, he served as mayor of West Orange, New Jersey, and was a county court judge for 18 years before being chosen to serve as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1944 to 1948, focusing on combating racketeering while in office.

[1] Van Riper was born in Montville, New Jersey, and graduated from Boonton High School in 1912.

[1] Having served for 18 years as a judge in the Essex County Court of Common Pleas, he was nominated by Governor of New Jersey Walter Evans Edge to succeed David T.

[1] Using outside investigators and 55 state troopers, Van Riper conducted a series of raids in August 1944 on Hudson County horse-race betting wire rooms that had been protected by Hague and was able to obtain indictments against more than 50 people who had been involved in the illegal activities, the first such indictments in Hague's 27 years controlling the county.

[7][8][6] A resident of West Orange, Van Riper died of a heart attack he experienced while swimming in the pool at the Boca Raton Hotel and Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, on March 4, 1973, at the age of 77.