Longtime Pennington County State’s Attorney and former South Dakota Attorney General Mark Vargo is taking his expertise overseas.

The 59-year-old Republican will step down from his position as the top prosecutor in South Dakota’s second most populous county next month after a decade at the post.

“I am moving to Thailand where I’ll be working on a rule-of-law project that relates to Southeast Asia,” Vargo told The Dakota Scout Tuesday evening.

State’s attorney in Pennington County since 2013, Vargo has been hired by a non-profit organization that assists under-developed countries to create government systems that promote justice.

His last day as state’s attorney is April 24, and he’ll be in Thailand by early May, he said.

NEWS: Post Ravnsborg, South Dakota prosecutors again using Attorney General's Office training