Italy Graft Probe Takes Dramatic Turn

The investigations detonated a week ago following the arrest of the head of the national railways and have quickly snowballed to reveal a superlobby of businessmen, judges and lawyers operating across a swathe of state sectors.

A new wave of police raids at company and legal offices in Milan, Rome and Turin were ordered by prosecutors on Saturday. Commentators said this latest scandal could prove more devastating than the original Tangentopoli (Bribesville) probes in the early 1990s which swept away the country