Italian racer Eddy Mazzoleni could be slapped with a two-year racing ban for his role in the “Oil for Drugs” doping investigation if Italian authorities have their way.

Prosecutors from the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) also recommended a life ban for journeyman rider Domenico Quagliariello in what are the toughest disciplinary rulings to come down surrounding the doping probe that dates back to 2004.

The 34-year-old Mazzoleni -- third overall in the 2007 Giro d’Italia -- was dropped by the Astana team last summer after links to the ongoing investigation were revealed.

It’s now up to the Italian cycling federation to consider action on the recommendations from CONI, which handles Italy’s doping cases.

Controversial Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione is the center of the 2004 Italian investigation that alleges he supplied banned performance-enhancing products to athletes, including scores of big-name Italian riders.

Agents from Italy’s anti-narcotics squad raided homes, labs and offices and tapped phones that seemed to tip an extensive doping ring.

The affair lost steam until the Operación Puerto doping scandal in Spain in 2006 reignited interest among investigators in the “Oil for Drugs” investigation.

Last fall, 2007 Giro champion Danilo Di Luca was handed a relatively light ban of only three months for similar links to Santuccione.

Di Luca, set to race this year with Italian continental team LPR, denied any wrongdoing and suggested that Santuccione had been his family doctor for many years.