This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Salt Lake City Division on Monday named a special agent in charge to head up the FBI's operations in Utah, Idaho and Montana.

Mary F. Rook, a 29-year veteran of the bureau, is the first woman to head up the Salt Lake division.

She started her career in 1984 as a lab technician and her most recent post was as the special agent in charge of the FBI's Anchorage Division in Alaska.

Rook replaced David J. Johnson, who was recently appointed to lead the FBI's operations in San Francisco.

A native of Montana, Rook has experience as special agent who has investigated drug trafficking in Los Angeles and criminal activity along the northern border in Montana.

In 2004, Rook worked as an assistant special agent in charge in the Salt Lake division overseeing all criminal, cyber and administrative programs, as well as the five resident agencies located in Utah.

In her most recent post in Alaska, Rook oversaw the successful prosecution of a group of extremists who plotted to murder state and federal law enforcement officials as well as a federal judge and his family.

Rook graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from Colorado State University in 1983.

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