I am the mother of Staff Sergeant Donald John DiPietro, United States Marine Corps and it has been more than eight years that I have been fighting for justice in the tragic death of my beloved son.
TWO DRUNKS PUSHED A TRUCK INTO THE ROAD, IN THE DARK, WITHOUT THEIR LIGHTS ON CAUSING MY SON TO DIE IN FRONT OF THE PARTY RANCH BAR IN SAN ANGELO, TEXAS - My son was on his motorcycle, doing the speed limit with no substances in his system. It was 7:30 at night, on a dark country road that was gradually inclining. At the top of the incline was the Party Ranch Bar that only had a 40-watt bulb on the building for lighting.
A couple of drunks, Malcolm McBurnett and Allen Schmidt, couldn’t start a truck and pushed it into the road, blocking an entire lane. No lights were on, on the truck. A man and woman stopped and asked if they needed help and said to the drunks, “You‘re going to kill someone.“ As they were turning their car around to shine their headlights onto the situation, they watched Allen Schmidt jump out of the way to save his own life and my poor son crash into the truck.
By the time my son saw the truck, he only had 80 feet to stop, going 50 mph. He was killed instantly and as my son lay dying in the road, Allen Schmidt went back into the bar and Samantha Turner served him another drink.
MONTHS OF RESEARCH RESULTED IN A SPREADSHEET EXPOSING JUDGE GOSSETT'S CORRUPTION - After my son Donald was killed on March 9, 2013, I found out that 391st District Judge Thomas J. Gossett, of San Angelo, Texas, released Malcolm Guy McBurnett on his 10th DWI, on Personal Recognizance, just thirteen days before Malcolm McBurnett got his 11th DWI and killed my son.
I immediately began doing research and subsequently created a chronological Excel spreadsheet, inputting Malcolm McBurnett’s 25-year criminal history of jail records, bond records, court records, court calendar records, Texas Driver’s License Division records, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission reports, records from the Texas Criminal Justice System, stories from The San Angelo Standard Times newspaper, and a phone interview with one of Malcolm McBurnett's bondsmen.
It took a very long time for me to compile the data in the spread sheet which is fifteen pages long, in size 8 font. I had to look up the definition of words constantly and I will never forget the growing horror as I slowly put together the truth and depth of Judge Gossett’s responsibility in my son’s death.
THE #1 KILLER MALCOLM MCBURNETT’S CRIMINAL HISTORY - Shockingly, I discovered that Malcolm McBurnett received his 9th DWI just three months before McBurnett’s 10th DWI, on November 3, 2012. This arrest resulted in a first-degree felony and a $100,000 bond, which was lost because McBurnett never returned to court. In fact, over Malcolm McBurnett’s 25-year criminal history, he never once returned to court on his own free will.
After Malcolm McBurnett was released for his November 3, 2012, DWI, he proceeded to be arrested on November 15, 2012, twice in the same day for Public Intoxication and Judge Gossett released him both times on Personal Recognizance.
Public Intoxication means you are a threat to yourself or others. Why would a judge release a serious threat to society like Malcolm McBurnett, on Personal Recognizance, which is supposed to only be for someone who is not considered a risk for showing back up to court?
After the two Public Intoxication arrests in one day, Malcolm McBurnett was astonishingly arrested ten more times prior to killing my son, within just three months, and each time Judge Gossett released McBurnett on Personal Recognizance.
Malcolm McBurnett was spiraling out of control in a nosedive to self-destruction. It was only a matter of time before Malcolm McBurnett killed himself or someone else, but Judge Gossett did not care and released McBurnett over and over on Personal Recognizance. Why?
In addition, Malcolm McBurnett had previously served five years in prison for DWIs and Theft, but from 2002 to 2012, McBurnett did not live in Texas.
PAROLE PROTEST - When I met with the Texas Parole Board in 2017 to protest Malcolm McBurnett being considered for parole, I gave my spreadsheet to them, with the emphasis on McBurnett’s horrendous criminal history, not the judge. At the end of my protest, a parole board member put her hand on a big file and said to me,”Your evidence is overwhelming, and you don’t even have the records of when he did not live in Texas…. but I do.”
I protested parole for Malcolm McBurnett five times, and he died in prison in 2020. He is buried on the prison grounds. It is a tremendous relief for me that he is gone. Protesting parole is a horrible, horrible, horrible experience!
THE BONDSMAN - As I worked on my spreadsheet, I was very emotional. I spent hours and hours crying and typing, crying and typing. In my desperation and frustration, I called the bondsman for McBurnett’s November 3, 2012, 9th DWI and asked him, “How could you bond out such a monster who killed my son?” and he said to me, “Malcolm McBurnett was blackmailing his attorney Melvin Gray because Malcolm caught Melvin in bed with a n***** girl. Malcolm had Melvin pay off Judge Gossett.”
I almost fell off my chair. I could not believe what I was hearing. I was already scared about calling him in the first place and then he said that to me! My first thought was, why is he telling me this? Shouldn't he be afraid of repercussions, living in a small town in Texas, telling me that a powerful attorney bribed a district judge? Then the bondsman started laughing and said “…it was Melvin Gray who posted the $100,000 bond for McBurnett on November 3, 2012, and Melvin lost all that money!”
THE ATTORNEY MELVIN GRAY - Melvin Gray was well aware of Malcolm McBurnett’s criminal history and failure to appear in court throughout the previous 25 years. He had represented Malcolm in a previous DWI case. Why would Melvin Gray risk losing so much money? Because he was being blackmailed by Malcolm McBurnett, and if Melvin Gray was willing to lose the bond money over the blackmailing, he certainly was willing to pay off Judge Gossett for Malcolm McBurnett. A few weeks later, I decided to call the bondsman again to try to get more information, but I found out he had passed away. I believe the bondsman told me the truth about Judge Gossett being bribed by Malcolm McBurnett because he knew he was dying.
U.S. ATTORNEY NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, THE HONORABLE ERIN NEALY COX IMMEDIATELY TOOK ACTION AGAINST CORRUPTION - Once my spreadsheet was completed, it exposed Judge Gossett’s misconduct and after I sent my spreadsheet to the Honorable Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney Northern District of Texas and accused Judge Gossett of accepting bribes from Malcolm McBurnett, which resulted in the death of my son, an FBI investigation began into the judge. The FBI investigation has been going on for more than two years now and I am anxiously waiting to hear that Judge Gossett has been indicted - arrested and charged with Bribery.
But it is almost enough justice to know that the same week I received the letter that Judge Gossett was being investigated by the FBI, Judge Gossett was removed from the courts and has not returned since. After I received the letter from Ms. Nealy Cox, I wrote back to her and said, ‘Thank you.” because no matter what happens, whether Judge Gossett is indicted or not, him being held accountable and being investigated, is what I need.
I am so grateful to Ms. Nealy Cox for being brave enough to order the FBI investigation and I will accept the decision of our legal process. I only pray that Judge Gossett knows it was ME, the mother of the Marine whose death he is responsible for, who busted him.
If Judge Gossett would have kept a dangerous threat to society in jail, Malcolm McBurnett, my son would still be alive.
I MISS MY SON SO MUCH - Even after eight years, I still think of my son constantly and struggle not to cry. As the mother of a Marine, I lived in fear of him one day being killed in battle, but not by a corrupt judge and a handful of drunks. I am just a working-class woman from the outskirts of Detroit, who has struggled all her life to survive. But it has all been worth it because I had my two sons, Donald and Robert. They have been my whole life but Judge Gossett has taken half of my life away.
I was very close to my son Donald. In 2007, I lost my job in Detroit and Donald had me move in with him in San Antonio to help me start over. He was right out of boot camp, and he paid for everything until I got a job and got on my feet. For six years, I lived with him or near him in Texas, and I got to join him for many Marine Corps events. In 2009, he took me to the Marine Corps Ball.
SSGT DONALD J. DIPIETRO, USMC - Donald wasn’t just my wonderful, loving son. He was a Marine, a member of the most feared military force in the world. Unlike the Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard, a Marine must maintain battle readiness throughout his or her career and have a physical fitness test every six months. Seeing what it took for my son to become a Marine, and what it took to continue being a Marine, filled my heart with pride, and pursuing justice for my son is my way of showing my respect and appreciation for him. Donald had received his Associate’s Degree and was working on his Bachelor’s Degree at Angelo State University when he was killed. He volunteered with Toys for Tots, he spoke Spanish, and he was a Marine Corps Instructor in breaking the codes of cell phone communications used by the Mexican Cartels. In August 2008, Donald volunteered and served in Iraq and was awarded the Personal Medal:
NAVY AND MARINE CORPS ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL
In 2012, Donald was again awarded the Personal Medal:
NAVY AND MARINE CORPS ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL
In August 2009, Donald was awarded the Personal Medal:
THE JOINT SERVICE ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL
In October 2011, Donald was one of only two service members in our country to receive this Personal Medal:
JOINT SERVICE ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL
Here are some excerpts from Donald’s 2012 performance review with the Marine Corps: “Sgt DiPietro is a top performer across the board. He is exceptionally focused, professional and thorough. He demonstrates excellent leadership and dedication to duty. Recommendation to promote ahead of his peers. In addition to operation experience in his target language, Sgt DiPietro demonstrates mastery of advanced skills associated with career progression in an extremely technical community. He has incorporated his expertise into the Marine Analysis and Reporting Course curriculum, allowing for other Marines to improve their proficiency in this key element of the analytic cycle. This sets him apart from his peers and places his ability on par with SIGINT Analysts or higher grade and much more.
Sgt DiPietro was additionally assigned as the Platoon Sergeant for 41 Marine students and 14 Marine Instructors, many higher rank than him. He provided outstanding mentorship to not only his students, but also to others in the platoon. His leadership can be credited with making a direct and significant impact on his Marines. He consistently demonstrates maturity and knowledge that is far beyond his peers. Sgt DiPietro is a tremendous asset to the Marine Corps.”
Donald was awarded Marine Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year at the Goodfellow Air Force Base, two years in a row, and in 2017, 697 people signed the Protest to keep Malcolm McBurnett from being released on parole.
After Donald was killed, my son Robert was looking through one of Donald’s books and found this quote Donald had written on one of the pages:
“If I lead, follow me. If I retreat, kill me. If I am killed, revenge me.”
When I found out the FBI investigation was beginning into Judge Gossett, I was thrilled but at the same time, I was devastated because I never wanted to be right. I never wanted it to be true that a district judge accepted bribes and my son was killed as a result.
Discovering Judge Gossett’s corruption was extremely painful and it took years for me to discover the right person, Ms. Nealy Cox, to do something. I couldn’t stand the thought of my son dying so senselessly, killed by a crooked judge and a handful of drunks.
THE OTHERS INVOLVED: ALLEN SCHMIDT, SAMANTHA TURNER, TRACY LAWSON - Eventually, once the FBI investigation removed Judge Gossett, I realized my son’s death wasn’t as senseless as I first thought because it has resulted in the removal of five dangerous threats to society:
Judge Gossett and Malcolm McBurnett
Allen Schmidt - the other killer of my son, who is on probation for 10 years and must be in his house by 9:00pm every night.
The bartender, Samantha Turner, who served Allen Schmidt another drink as my son lay dying in the road, lost her license to serve alcohol.
Tracy Lawson, who condoned over-serving customers, has lost his liquor license and his bar has been shut down. My son was the second person who was killed as a result of Tracy Lawson’s bar over-serving alcohol and if Tracy Lawson would have had proper lighting outside of his bar instead of just a 40 watt bulb, my son would have seen the truck in the road, and he would have had time to stop instead of dying.
NO REMORSE - Adding to my pain is the fact that none of these five threats to society have ever shown an ounce of remorse. I wrote two letters to Malcolm McBurnett in prison telling him I would forgive him if he would tell me he was sorry, but he never wrote back. With each letter, the state of Texas sent a representative and met with him with a copy of my letter and gave him the chance to express remorse, but he had nothing to say.
After Allen Schmidt’s 4-day trial, the only comment made was when his mother Charlene said, “It's been very hard on us.”
Tracy Lawson has no remorse either. The only thing he had to say was, he didn’t know why my son didn’t see the truck in the road.
All his life, my son wanted to make a difference in this world. The Marine Corps gave him the opportunity to fulfill his dreams and he worked very hard at serving his country. My efforts to acquire justice have been a continuation of my son’s legacy of serving. Now I have completed his mission. Five threats to society have been removed. In life, my son served his country. In death, he defeated evil. My son died with honor. My son died in battle. Battle with corruption. My son made a difference in this world.
MY MOURNING - When the Marines came to my home and told me my son had been killed, I screamed so horribly, the neighbors thought I had been murdered and called the police. The grief has been unbearable pain. It felt like the grief was going to kill me, and my pain and feeling of helplessness was doubled because of my anger at Judge Gossett not being held accountable.
My extreme grief and anger caused me to have anxiety, I couldn’t sleep, I lashed out at everyone and lost contact with all my family and most of my friends. I never knew I loved so much until I hurt so much.
I had expected Donald to take care of his younger brother Robert, who has two chronic illnesses, after I died. Now Robert is an only child.
After my son was killed, I was living completely alone in San Antonio and after three months, I realized I needed to move back home to Detroit to be with my other son Robert, so I ordered a POD, packed it by myself, put my dog and Donald’s dog in my car, and drove 1,400 miles back to Detroit. Once I was back in Detroit, I was in the depths of hell, in mourning and I couldn’t go back to work part-time until 2017, full time in 2018.
THE TRIAL FOR ALLEN LEE SCHMIDT: THE 2nd KILLER OF MY SON - In 2014, I received such little notice that I drove by myself from Detroit to San Angelo to attend the four-day trial for the other killer of my son, Allen Schmidt. During the trial, I testified on the stand and I also watched the video of my son crashing into McBurnett’s truck.
THE PRE-TRIAL FOR MALCOLM GUY MCBURNETT - In 2016, I attended McBurnett’s Pre-trial but they offered him a plea and sentenced him without me being notified.
MY CIVIL SUIT - In April 2017, I took the stand for 30 minutes during my civil lawsuit and watched several people in the courtroom cry as I spoke, and in June 2017, I flew from Detroit to Amarillo and met with the Texas Parole Board to protest Malcolm McBurnett being considered for parole.
GOD CAME TO ME - The pain I have faced over the last eight years felt like it was going to kill me, and it almost did. The only thing that has pulled me through this horror was the fact that God came to me.
When you meet her, please ignore her when she cries.
She just can't help it, even though she tries.
Act like you don't see it, the pain that takes her breath.
Pretend it does not bother you, to know she wishes death.
Drunks killed her oldest son, a Marine who served us well.
A broken truck in the Texas dark, now she lives each day in hell.
Friends with a crooked judge, money bought a drunk's freedom.
It was his 11th DWI, that sent her son to The Kingdom.
I'm turning to ashes from the inside she said, my heart it is so blue.
You will not turn to ashes my friend; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is always here for you.
Judge Thomas Gossett is responsible for my son’s death and he is the exact opposite of my son with no concept of what my son lived by:
Honor, Courage and Commitment
WONDERFUL MEMORIES - For three years, my son was stationed in San Angelo while I lived three hours away in San Antonio. At least once a month, he would come to San Antonio to see me, or I would go to San Angelo to see him, on a Friday night, and we would spend the weekend together, and I have the most wonderful memories of me and my son, far, far from home, in a land so different from where we are from in Detroit.
My goal is to be able to remember my son without crying.
I want Judge Thomas Gossett to be indicted and found guilty for Bribery so I can close this horrible chapter to my son’s death and try to rebuild my life. If justice is served, I can stop hating Judge Gossett and maybe I can forgive him too.
Praise be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
CONCLUSION - After suffering the terrible tragedy of losing my honorable Marine son, my pain was doubled when I found out a corrupt judge took bribes from the drunk who killed my son. Now I am preparing to face Judge Thomas J. Gossett in court when he is indicted for Bribery and I deliver my Crime Victim Impact Statement.
God has led me through the three trials after my son's death, the five parole protests, months and months of research, fighting for years for someone to investigate the judge, and more. How did I overcome corruption and death? With God’s help. Why did God help me? So I can tell you He is here for all of us.
Semper Fidelis
