"Fast and Furious" Guns Tracked to More Violent Crimes in Arizona, Including Some in Phoenix and Glendale, Feds Say

Bill Newell, former acting head of the ATF in Phoenix, helped oversee the scandal-plagued "Fast and Furious" investigation -- and recently received a promotion.

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Firearms linked to the scandal-ridden "Fast and Furious" investigation have turned up at 11 U.S. crime scenes, including four in Arizona, Congress was told this month.

And that's in addition to the December incident in which U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was shot near Rio Rico.

The new information comes from a letter to Congress by the U.S. Justice Department that was recently obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

The Times also reported this week that three supervisors with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms bureau who oversaw the investigation, in which suspected cartel members were observed buying guns but weren't apprehended, have been promoted.

The letter states that Justice officials have learned "that ATF is aware of 11 instances" besides the Terry slaying in which the "Fast and Furious" guns "were recovered in connection with a crime of violence in the United States."

The letter doesn't give details, but the Times quotes an unnamed source close to the investigation who said that guns traced to the operation had turned up at violent crime scenes in Phoenix, Glendale, Douglas and Nogales.

The ATF lost track of more than 1,400 guns sold to suspected cartel members in the operation. Many of the guns are believed to have been smuggled into Mexico. Angry Mexican officials said last month they wished to see U.S. officials responsible for the debacle prosecuted in their country.