Astonishing irony as no-bid contractor behind algae-ridden pool named: 'Can't be true'

Systemic Error Podcast · Jul 3, 2026 · 3m

Patronage in the Reflecting PoolThe Contract Was the ClueThe source story is not really about algae. It is about a federal agency handing a no-bid contract to a Trump donor with a long political relationship to the president, then watching the project degrade into a public mess. The National Park Service gave Greenwater Services the work; the company is tied to John J. Cafaro, a Mar-a-Lago neighbor, major Trump donor, and man with a felony bribery plea in his past. That is the center of gravity here.Power Chose the VendorThe institutional power sat with the Park Service and, above it, the…