Thom Calandra has seen the light

When the business journalism world last heard from Thom Calandra, a co-founder and columnist at CBSMarketwatch.com, he was being forced to resign after the SEC went after him.

Calandra had failed to disclose that he held positions in stocks that he was writing about in a positive fashion and was selling them shortly after publication. He settled with the SEC in January 2005, agreeing to pay more than $540,000 in penalties.

Now, Calandra is talking about his rise and fall with Stockhouse.com executive editor Darin Diehl and publishing excerpts of his book “Pablo by Numbers” on the site as well. He discloses that he also has a stake in Vator.TV, the web site started by former Marketwatch columnist Bambi Francisco.

“When I became the subject of the inquiry that changed my life and when I got the letter in the mail, hearing from the SEC was the best thing that ever could have happened to me at that point in my professional life,” says Calandra in the interview. “The enforcement folks in the San Francisco office, I consider them my guardian angels in a way. Even if they did kick the fiscal beans out of me.”

Diehl says Calandra’s cautionary tale is of interest.

“Stockhouse is a stock market news and information site for hundreds of thousands of retail investors interested in the markets – many of whom followed Thom Calandra,” says Diehl. “The interview and book excerpts will give investors a fresh perspective on Mr. Calandra, his view of the markets then and now, and lessons learned from his missteps.”