Italian police say they have searched offices of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party as part of a probe of falsified membership lists.

Police arrived at the Turin headquarters of the center-right party Thursday night looking for membership paperwork after a hospital employee complained that he and his wife had been enrolled in Forza Italia without their knowledge.

Police searched the party's headquarters in Rome Friday. Party leaders say they are cooperating in the investigation.

The political investigation grew out of a corruption probe at Turin's Molinette Hospital, one of Italy's largest medical institutions. The case began in December when the hospital's director, Luigi Odasso, was caught accepting money from a businessman in exchange for a work contract.

Mr. Odasso admitted he had been taking bribes for years. He told investigators he used some of the money to buy membership cards from Forza Italia in hopes of gaining political power.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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