April

2, 2013 Honorable William J. Wenzel Connecticut Superior Court, Stamford/Norwalk District Civil and Criminal Division 123 Hoyt Street Stamford, CT 06905 Your Honor, I write to the Court today in reference to the character and integrity of Teri Buhl as I have come to know her over the past several years as her editor and publisher. I have hired Teri for more than 25 news reporting assignments since first becoming aware of her aggressive and hardhitting style of business journalism in articles she wrote for the business section of the New York Post and DealBreaker.com, the wellregarded blog of inside Wall Street. I first hired Teri in 2009 to write investigative reports on several hedge funds that were in financial distress or under investigation for fraud by government authorities, as Editor and Publisher at DealFlow Media, Inc., a financial newsletter publisher. I have continued to hire her for investigative financial news reports published in Growth Capital Investor and at GrowthCapitalist.com, where I am currently Editor and Publisher. In these positions I hired reporters, assigned and edited news articles, and resolved disputes with news article subjects and sources who took issue with our published reports. Publications under my purview won national association awards for investigative financial news in 2008, 2009, and 2011. At all times in my professional relationship with Ms. Buhl she has conducted herself with the highest degree of integrity. Pursuing investigative financial journalism in a small news organization such as ours is a highstakes and perilous affair. Our subjects are almost always more powerful, more wealthy and wield more influence than we do. The smallest misquote or mischaracterization in our reporting can bring legal action upon us that can literally bankrupt a small news organization, regardless of merit. For this reason my temperament for any but the highest display of journalistic and professional ethics has always been harsh and unforgiving. Many otherwise fine reporters are unwelcome on the mastheads of my publications due to what others might consider a forgivable slip or lapse of judgment. This has never been an issue with Ms. Buhl. Her reporting is deep and well researched. Her assertions, even when relying on anonymous sources as is so often necessary in financial reporting, are documented from multiple sources. Her sources are invariably firsthand witnesses to the events she is reporting. Often they are so close to the story that their
MarketNexus Media, Inc. P.O. Box 7172, Petaluma, CA 94955 ph 707.861.1005 fx 360.364.2752 MarketNexusMedia.com GrowthCapitalist.com Growth Capital Investor Growth Capital Summit

 tities must b be shielded, , as they are e mere steps s away from m the article es subject a and ident stand d to lose eve erything th heir jobs, th heir careers, their reputation and f financial we ellbeing if d discovered b by their emp ployers, bos sses, or part tners. Durin ng the time of my profe essional rela ationship w with Ms. Buh hl, I have wit tnessed her r single hand dedly take on some of th he largest fi inancial org ganizations i in the count try with inves stigative rep ports highlig ghting activ vities that la ater spurred d investigati ions by the Attor rneys Gener ral of New Y York and Ma assachusett s, and the Securities an nd Exchange e Comm mission. Sev veral of those investiga ations have led to feder ral charges a against thes se instit tutions and their execu utives. In thi is regard, M Ms. Buhls wo ork has serv ved the public inter rest in prote ecting the pu ublic from f financial fra aud and abuse of economic power in the same e way a political reporter serves th he public by y ferreting o out governm ment fraud a and abuse. ve never nee eded to retract, correct or amend a any of her re eports due t to inaccuracies, I hav misch haracterization or conf flicts of inte erest. I conti inue to assig gn her the m most difficult and sensi itive investi igations bec cause trust h her implicit tly to discov ver the truth h of the mat tter and report it fairly and courageo ously. Her r reporting ha as no doubt t made many y powerful people very y uncomfort table. In my y experience, pow werful peopl le and organ nizations that are show wn in the cle eansing light t of the news s page to be engaged in n questionab ble activitie s do not hes sitate to wie eld their power to bring g financial p pressure or retaliate against the so ource of thei ir discomfort. While I c cannot claim m any specif fic knowledg ge, I cannot help but wo onder whet ther it is a fa actor in this s case. Teri Buhl is a cre edit to her p profession, a and an asse et to the pub blic. Her work serves th he publi ic interest a almost exclu usively, with h very little personal be enefit and a at great pers sonal risk. Any interru uption in her ability to c continue he er reporting g would be a a direct loss s to the mon weal. I urge the Co ourt to consider her sen ntence in th he context of her extrao ordinary comm comm mitment to the public g good. Since erely,

Brett t Goetschius s CEO and Publish her MAR RKETNEXUS MEDIA

MarketNex xus Media, In nc. P.O. Box B 7172, Pet taluma, CA 94 4955 ph 7 707.861.1005 5 fx 360.3 364.2752 MarketNex xusMedia.com m Growt thCapitalist.co om Grow wth Capital In nvestor Growth Capital Summit