FBI's Salt Lake City office names new special agent in charge

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Salt Lake City office has a new special agent in charge.

David J. Johnson has taken over the position of recently retired special agent in charge James McTighe.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller made the announcement Monday.

Johnson started with the FBI in 1991, working violent crimes cases in San Jose, Calif. He was assigned to technology cases in 1992, and in 1997 started working Mexican drug trafficking cases, according to a news release from the FBI's Washington, D.C., office.

In 1999, Johnson oversaw an Asian organized crime squad in San Jose and led task forces aimed at human trafficking, police corruption and racketeering cases.

He also served as chief of the Crimes Against Children Unit, where he developed the Innocence Lost National Initiative, which identifies and rescues minors involved in prostitution, according to the release.

In 2008, Johnson was promoted to inspector in charge in San Francisco and led a task force that investigated the destruction of interrogation videotapes by the CIA.

Most recently, he has been the chief of the violent crimes section in the Criminal Investigative Division, responsible for investigating cases like bank robberies, kidnappings, extortion, Indian country cases and crimes against children, among other things, the release states.

Johnson received a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in political science. He also attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and practiced insurance law before joining the FBI.

Johnson was getting acquainted with his new office on Monday and wasn't available for comment on his new position, said Debbie Dujanovic Bertram, a public affairs specialist with the FBI Salt Lake City Division.

mrogers@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mrogers_trib