Testimone di gangster

testimone di gangster (ギャング側の証人) is a short story written by Keiji Ando for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's 35th Anniversary.

It was announced in the December 2022 issue of Ultra Jump on November 17, 2022 and was published in Winter 2022 issue of JOJO magazine on December 19, 2022.

Chapter 1
The second hearing of a massive trial against 32 members of Passione is being held in the Courthouse at Sicily, Italy. At the courtroom entrance, security guards pull out Squalo's thermos from his bag and ask him what's in it. After showing them that it's just coffee, Squalo is free to enter. He takes a seat in the spectator seating area in the front row of the courtroom, noticing how crowded it is inside. The "Great Gang Trial" from seven years prior was a similar event where over 220 gang members were declared guilty, but this current trial garnered more attention despite having a much smaller number of defendants in comparison.

The main prosecutor of the trial, Gilberto Falco, then enters the room. He is an extremely famous man who fought against government corruption and overthrew gangs. He first targeted members of a smaller gang and promised them his protection if they would divulge information. The public nicknamed him "The Seducer"; Falco always treated everyone with respect, managing to coax information from people that even the police weren't able to get after interrogations. and every other gang became aware of Falco's existence but were unable to assassinate him due to his intense security.

The case's defense lawyer, prison officers, and judge arrive afterwards. Squalo stares at Tizzano, who is the apprentice of the defense attorney and also a member of Passione. Thinking of his leader's orders, Squalo declares to himself that he will kill Tizzano with his ability.

Chapter 2
After Cosa nostra's decline, Passione recently started becoming more prominent in Italy. However, the magnitude of the gang was a mystery. Since Falco declared that they managed to capture 32 members, this trial was a huge event for the nation as it would expose the gang's truths. A bank employee working in Palermo named Pollo was the man who leaked information about Passione to Falco. In the past, Pollo was arrested for being the accountant in a small gang, but was later released due to insufficient evidence. However, Pollo ended up turning himself in and exposed information about Passione after they started a new drug ring which would involve women, children, and innocent people getting caught up in it. Pollo worked as a money launderer for Passione; he took advantage of a loophole left by Italian tax offices and sent money from Passione members to overseas bank accounts and then back into their own accounts. The police were then able to arrest 32 gang members who were involved with the money laundering after investigating and discovering most of the routes that the money took. Although the members declined their involvement, the that passed in 1982 made it easier to pursue criminal charges against gangs, so Falco was able to indict the defendants as members of Passione.

Falco was correct about them being gang members, so Passione needed to find a way to stop the trial. Squalo and Tizzano's leader initially wanted to have both Pollo and Falco killed but Tizzano objected to the idea since it would be essentially admitting that those 32 defendants are actual gang members. Instead, Tizzano suggested that they'll beat Falco at the trial by having Pollo rescind his testimony. The leader agreed to Tizzano's idea, which surprised Squalo as the suggestion sounded improbable and he knew the leader disliked Tizzano. However, since the leader valued violence, he didn't appreciate Tizzano's idea of defeating their opponents in court. He later summoned Squalo and gave an order to kill Tizzano after the trial is over. Squalo's mission was to pretend he's working alongside Tizzano and then kill him when everything was over.

The first public hearing of the trial took place several days prior. At that time, Tizzano's aim was to convince Falco that he could win the case. Now during the second hearing, Falco felt relaxed. When Falco attempts to begin his questioning, Tizzano uses his Stand to make the defense lawyer suddenly declare that he will prove the defendants are not guilty. After the awkward silence and stifled laughter in the audience, the judge tells the lawyer not to speak out of turn. Falco settles everyone down and asks Pollo to confirm his position of which gang he was affiliated with. However, Pollo remains silent for some time before suddenly stating that he wasn't with any gang. Just as Tizzano planned, Pollo rescinds his testimony by stating that he and the 32 other members are not guilty and that he made up the entire story. Falco is completely shocked and repeatedly asks Pollo the same thing, but he shakes his head, denying everything he stated before. Consequently, the judge postpones the second public hearing due to the chaos that ensued.

Chapter 6
Gilberto Falco was one of Italy's most famous prosecutors for catching numerous gangsters, but his reputation completely changed after this trial. Believing that he captured innocent people and forced them to confess that they committed crimes, the members of Passione who were arrested based on Pollo's confession were reexamined. Since Falco was in charge of most of their interrogations, his evidence was considered unreliable, so almost all of the 32 members were acquitted and released.

Chapter 7
Squalo and Tizzano's mission is complete. Consequently, the trial impacted Italy's entire prosecution. Italy's anti-gang measures which had progressed in the past ten years regressed, causing Italy to quickly fall into the hands of Passione.

Trivia

 * The Japanese title is possibly a reference to 's short story Kensatsu-gawa no Shōnin (検察側の証人).
 * The "Great Gang Trial" (ギャング大裁判) is a reference to the (マフィア大裁判). The trial was led by, who Falco is based on.