SCANDAL SHEETS IN TROUBLE?

I'll say it. I feel for Britney Spears. If there is one celeb that's been driven to the state of madness by the paparzzi, it has to be her. Granted, she may feed into the frenzy most of the time with dopey young adult behavior and ridiculous antics. That said, however, there's definitely a codependent thing going on - and the pappers know it and feed into it. As a result, an already-fragile pop star is in a dire state.

So, this interistingly comes via the NY POST. Perhaps, enough now, is enough ...

THE FBI is poking around the celebrity magazine world on the West Coast, investigating allegations of kickbacks and pay-for-play schemes, according to a source who was contacted by investigators.

The source was told that the probe, which appears to be at a preliminary stage, involved "paparazzi and In Touch" magazine.

The source was contacted by an agent named Dennis Webster in the FBI's Los Angeles office. Webster had not returned calls to Media Ink by presstime.

Specifics about what the feds are looking into remain murky, but people at the celebrity magazines have been burning up the lines in recent days since a story about the FBI probe was posted Wednesday on the complex.com Web site and picked up by gawker.com and jossip.com.

However, the source said that West Coast legal circles have been buzzing that Hollywood stars who have long felt they were being harassed by the paparazzi were perhaps pushing the feds to act.

To read the rest of the piece, click HERE.