Ah I apologise, it was Van Lierop (creative director) who stated how close these games were to completion. It was the new Project Manager Brian Hook who was steering the game toward completion when they ran out of money. I say "steering toward completion" because he was actually standing up to Broussard to promote the concept of releasing over perfecting.

The source is here:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/fail_duke_nukem/

The stuff I'm referencing is on the fourth page.