The $92 Million Porta-Potty: How Doodie Calls Landed a No-Bid Windfall Under DeSantis
A deep-dive into Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” boondoggle and the politically connected sanitation company at the center of it all
In the sweltering heart of the Everglades, where alligators glide through murky waters and the air hangs thick with humidity, the state of Florida built something that defies both logic and fiscal reason: a $608 million immigrant detention center so remote that human waste must be trucked out by the ton.
The facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by critics, was erected at an abandoned airstrip deep in the Everglades—so isolated that the only practical way to handle millions of gallons of sewage was to award a no-bid contract worth nearly $93 million to a company with a name that seems almost too absurd to be true: Doodie Calls.
But behind the juvenile name lies a story that has watchdog groups, government accountability advocates, and Florida taxpayers asking serious questions about pay-to-play politics, emergency fund abuse, and whether a company with deep political connections landed a contract it was never qualified to receive.
The Contract: A Staggering Sum for Portable Toilets
Florida’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund—originally created for hurricanes and natural disasters—has been transformed into what critics call Governor Ron DeSantis’s “slush fund” for immigration enforcement. Since 2022, the state has spent $573 million** on immigration-related operations, with **$405 million spent in just the last six months of 2025.
The largest single contractor in this spending spree? Doodie Calls.
The company received $92.8 million** for portable toilets, shower trailers, and laundry facilities at the South Florida Detention Facility. Other sources show the company’s total contracts across both state-run immigration detention facilities reaching **$219 million, with initial projections as high as $645 million.
Doodie Calls, a St. Petersburg-based company formed in 2018, bills itself as a provider of “portable sanitation solutions for disaster relief, outdoor weddings, and construction site management”. Yet within just a few years of its founding, it was receiving hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars through no-bid contracts.
The No-Bid Question: How Did This Happen?
Ordinarily, state contracts of this magnitude would be subject to competitive bidding. But DeSantis declared illegal immigration a “state of emergency”—a designation traditionally reserved for natural disasters—which allowed his administration to bypass standard procurement rules.
The result: 719 “emergency procurement” contracts without competitive bidding, including 45 contracts awarded to a single company, CDR Maguire. Doodie Calls was among the biggest beneficiaries.
“Florida has basically been a giant trough for politically connected contractors eager to gorge on tax dollars,” wrote one Tampa Bay Times columnist. “With few checks and balances—and zero audits—Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the name of an immigration ’emergency.’ Some of it was dished out in no-bid deals. Some to companies that first made campaign donations to the governor and Republican Party”.
The Political Connections: A Who’s Who of DeSantis Donors
Doodie Calls’ path to the $92 million contract runs through a web of political connections that raises uncomfortable questions about whether the company was selected on merit—or on the basis of its relationships.
Brian Ballard: The Ultimate Insider
Doodie Calls’ registered lobbyist is Brian Ballard, described as “an international influencer and DeSantis supporter who employed Pam Bondi before she became Trump’s puppet attorney general”. Ballard is a powerhouse fundraiser for both DeSantis and Donald Trump.
In Florida political circles, Ballard is considered one of the most connected lobbyists in the state—the kind of figure who doesn’t just open doors but builds entire hallways.
The Donations
While Doodie Calls itself may not have directly contributed to DeSantis’s campaigns, the company’s founder, Matt Michelsen (also the founder of Gothams LLC, another Alligator Alcatraz contractor), gave $25,000 to the Republican Party of Florida in 2021** and another **$25,000 to DeSantis’s Empower Parents political action committee in 2022.
The broader pattern is unmistakable: “Millions [are] going to companies whose executives have donated to Republican political action committees linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis,” according to RealClearInvestigations.
At least 10 state contractors involved in Alligator Alcatraz made campaign donations to DeSantis or the Florida Republican Party. CDR Maguire and its executives alone donated $1.9 million to DeSantis PACs and the state Republican Party.
The Timing: A Website That Appeared Out of Nowhere
One of the most curious aspects of the Doodie Calls saga is the timing of the company’s digital presence. According to public records, Doodie Calls was formed in 2018—the same year DeSantis was first elected governor.
The company’s official website, doodie-calls.com, appears to have been established in the period leading up to the contract award. While the exact launch date is difficult to pinpoint from public records, the company’s sudden emergence as a major government contractor with hundreds of millions in projected revenue has raised eyebrows among government accountability experts.
The question critics are asking: Was Doodie Calls created—or did it suddenly become visible—because its founders had assurance that the contract was coming?
The Hindenburg Papers: What Was Sent—and What Wasn’t
This investigation has reviewed the documents and allegations that were sent to Hindenburg Papers on June 26, 2026—the activist short-selling firm known for exposing corporate fraud and malfeasance.
Hindenburg received anonymous documents and transaction histories alleging that Doodie Calls’ CEO has been involved in illegal transactions that make him complicit in a possible money laundering scheme and fraud entangled with government contracts.
The allegations reportedly include:
- Offshore accounts where money is being diverted from government contracts
- Complex transaction layering designed to obscure the origin and ownership of funds
- Dummy companies used to move money discreetly
- A network of accounts at U.S. financial institutions used to bring suspect funds into the United States through multiple wire transfers
However, this investigation has been unable to independently verify these specific allegations.
It is important to note that no criminal charges have been filed against Doodie Calls, its executives, or Governor DeSantis in connection with these contracts. We are hopefully that after we have reviewed the 500 pages document that we will have our facts lined up to submit to the authorities.
The Bigger Picture: A Pattern of Pay-to-Play
The Doodie Calls contract is not an isolated incident. It fits a broader pattern of emergency fund abuse and politically connected contracting that has defined the DeSantis administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.
Consider the scope of the spending:
- $479,000 for private jet flights, justified as supporting “Israel evacuation efforts”
- **$156,000** in “food products” that included repeated charges at bars and an $18,859 purchase at a camouflage and bow-and-arrow retailer
- At least 55 restaurants billing the emergency fund
- $1.1 million to a high-profile law firm on New Year’s Eve
“This is a disaster, all right,” wrote the Sun-Sentinel in an editorial. “The Legislature created the fund four years ago to speed the response to disasters such as hurricanes or COVID-19, not foreseeing how DeSantis would cynically define illegal immigration as a ‘disaster'”.
What We Still Don’t Know
Despite the mountains of spending data and campaign finance records, critical questions remain unanswered:
- Who actually owns Doodie Calls? While public records list Kyle Simmons as President/Owner, the corporate structure remains opaque.
- Where did the money go? No comprehensive audit of the emergency fund spending has been conducted.
- What happened to the Hindenburg? They’re no public records but after we received an anonymous tip from a source we are trying to connect and link the pattern of payout as bribes to it’s beneficiaries and how this aided them to secure the contract.
- Was there coordination between the DeSantis administration and Doodie Calls before the contract was awarded? The sequence of events—the company’s founding in 2018, the campaign donations, the no-bid contract—raises questions that only a full investigation can answer.
The Cost to Taxpayers
The Trump administration promised to reimburse Florida for the $608 million spent on Alligator Alcatraz. Eight months later only $58million has been reimbursed to Florida.
Florida taxpayers are left holding the bag for what may be “one of the biggest wastes of money in Florida’s history”. And at the center of it all sits a porta-potty company with a joke for a name and a $92 million payday that critics say was bought, not earned.
This investigation is based on public records, campaign finance disclosures, government spending data, and news reports. The allegations regarding money laundering and offshore accounts have been reported but could not be independently verified. Doodie Calls did not respond to requests for comment.
