The weapon, found after a face-off between members of the Sinaloa drug cartel and Mexican military police, had been originally purchased by former Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Gillett, said the U.S. official, who declined to be named.

Killed in the deadly gun battle was Mexican beauty queen Maria Susana Flores Gamez and four others. The U.S. Justice Department Office of the Inspector General was investigating, the official said.

Gillett, who could not be reached for comment, was a key supervisor in a botched ATF sting known as "Fast and Furious," a controversial operation that allowed more than 2,000 weapons to slip across the U.S. border into Mexico.

The bungled operation, triggered by gun purchases made in the Phoenix area, was envisioned as a way to track weapons from the buyers to senior drug cartel members.

Federal agents who ran the operation focused on building cases against the leaders of a trafficking ring, and did not pursue low-level buyers of those firearms.

Two of those guns were discovered at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, killed in a shoot-out with suspected border bandits in southern Arizona in December 2010. It was not clear if the fatal bullets came from the weapons.

The gun found at the November crime scene in Mexico was an FN Herstal pistol, a high-powered weapon favored by Mexican drug cartel members, according to the law enforcement official.

The source said the weapon was purchased in the Phoenix area. Gillett acknowledged to CBS News the gun was likely his, but said he sold it through the Internet in 2011.

He declined to tell the Los Angeles Times why he purchased the pistol or how it ended up in the fatal shooting in Mexico.

"I've got no comment. I can't discuss it," he told the paper. "But it was a lawful transaction."

Justice department officials in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment.

(Editing By Cynthia Johnston)

The former Masters champion began the day locked in a tie with Gregory Bourdy with both men on 13-under.

However, the Frenchman bogeyed his first hole on the way to a two-over 74 while Schwartzel fired 10 birdies with just two dropped shots, his first of this week's tournament, as he shot a second 64 in a row to go with his first round 67.

Despite his impressive lead Schwartzel is not taking anything for granted ahead of the final round.

"As a golfer you don't like to think like that. It's a nice comfort and I'd rather be 10 ahead than nine ahead. Whatever lead you can build is great. We've all see what can happen in this game. I don't want to think about it," he told reporters.

Schwartzel enjoyed a superb front nine as he made the turn at four-under for the round after just 31 strokes on the picturesque par-72 lay-out bordering the Kruger National Park.

He then fired four consecutive birdies from the 12th before chalking up another birdie on the 541-yeard par five 18th.

Despite his fine scoring Schwartzel said he was not that pleased with his driver and it was his putting that had been responsible for his position at the end of day three.

"I don't think I'm hitting my driver very well but I'm hitting my three-wood well. I seem to go for that and I'm hitting it really long, so it's working out for me. Once I get into position then my iron play is good.

"Probably the biggest thing of all is that I'm converting the putts," he said.

Schwartzel added that as long as he could keep the ball in play off the tee he had a chance of picking up birdies.

"You don't need you're A-game to score well. There's a big difference between flushing the golf ball and scoring. I'm not flushing it, but I'm scoring well. When you flush it you feel a lot less pressure. When you're not hitting it well it doesn't mean that you're going to score worse, you've just got to work so much harder to get the ball down in play," he said.

Bourdy was alone in second place on 11-under with a group of three - Sweden's Kristoffer Broberg, South Africa's Branden Grace and Briton Steve Webster - a shot further back.

South Africa's Keith Horne enjoyed a special moment with a second consecutive hole-in-one on the 192-yard par three 12th, winning a luxury German car for his achievement. (Writing by Jason Humphries in Durban; Editing by Ken Ferris)

(Logo:)

The contract begins March 1, 2013, following a two-month phase-in period beginning Jan. 2. The contract has a one-year, seven-month base period and options to extend the work through Sept. 30, 2022. The maximum potential value for the nine-year, seven-month cost-plus-award-fee contract is $1.37 billion if NASA exercises all options.

Jacobs will provide services to meet NASA requirements, including support to the agency's programs, commercial entities and other government agencies. These services include launch vehicle, spacecraft and payload integration and processing; operations and development of associated processes and ground systems to support integration, processing and launch; servicing and testing of flight hardware; and launch of development and operational flights at Kennedy.

Subcontractors working with Jacobs on the contract include Engineering Research and Consulting Inc., or ERC, of Huntsville, Ala. and Aerodyne Industries LLC, of Oldsmar, Fla.

With the award of this contract, Kennedy is positioning itself for the next era of space exploration. Kennedy is transitioning to a 21st-century launch facility with multiple users, both private and government. A dynamic infrastructure is taking shape, designed to host many kinds of spacecraft and rockets sending people on America's next voyages in space.

For more information about Kennedy, visit:

For more information about NASA programs and missions, visit:

SOURCE NASA

The Bulls have won 19 of their last 22 home encounters against the Knicks, who were still without Carmelo Anthony.

Chicago were led by Luol Deng and Marco Belinelli, who scored 22 points apiece, improving to 11-8 and strengthening their lead in the Eastern Conference's Central standings.

"He (Belinelli) has been consistent with his approach," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He has gotten more comfortable and he has gotten extended minutes and he has played very well."

The home side kicked away inside the final two minutes of the game with a 6-0 run to cement the victory.

Raymond Felton had a game-high 27 points for the Knicks but could not drive his side to victory like he did against the Miami Heat on Thursday.

The Knicks were left to rue poor accuracy, making just 32 percent of their shots (27 of 84) compared to the Bulls 44 percent (34 for 78).

The Bulls also overcame the loss of bench power forward Taj Gibson, who was ejected in the first half for comments he made to referee Derrick Stafford after a rebounding foul was called against him.

"In the NBA, there's something every night you're dealing with," Thibodeau added. "You have to have the mental toughness to get through whatever it is that's in front of you."

New York dropped to 14-5 but remain top of the Eastern Conference. (Reporting by Ben Everill in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Ransom/Peter Rutherford; )