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WOKING, England — Italian investigators visited the offices of Formula One team McLaren and the homes of several of its executives on Wednesday as part of a criminal probe into the sport’s spy scandal.

McLaren said investigators, led by the Modena magistrate, were accompanied by local Surrey Police as they went to the McLaren Technology Center and the homes of “a number” of executives.

“The police are completely satisfied with the cooperation they have received,” McLaren said in a statement. “These actions are part of a normal judicial process in connection with the ongoing investigation and are supported by McLaren Racing.”

The names of the investigators or the executives were not disclosed.

On Feb. 18, the man at the center of the scandal — former Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney — was questioned for three hours by Modena prosecutor Giuseppe Tibis.

He is investigating Stepney for providing confidential material to McLaren. Six other McLaren officials, including management members and technicians, are also under investigation.

Stepney was head of performance development at Ferrari when the scandal broke last July and a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars was found at the home of McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan.

Stepney was fired from Ferrari, while McLaren was fined a record $100 million by the World Motor Sport Council and kicked out of the manufacturers’ championship after being accused of using the leaked information.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press, shared by Edmister of http://www.isis2020.com a Virginia Private Investigator

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