From BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Italy:

"Italy probes phoney secret police
Italian police have launched a big inquiry into a ‘parallel’ intelligence agency created to fight Islamist militant groups, Italian media report.
The Department of Anti-terrorism Strategic Studies (DSSA) was reportedly set up after the 2004 Madrid train bombings, in which 191 people died.
Many of those under investigation are policemen, and some of them are said to have been unaware of the fact that their activity in the DSSA was illegal.
The alleged aim was to benefit from funding that has become available, nationally and internationally, after the Madrid blasts as part of the global war on terror."

Isn’t this amazing? I’ve read a few bits and pieces about corruption and mafia connections within the Italian police, but this is amazing.

It’s a little larger than a bogus meter-reader calling at your door to rob you!