Metro

Construction projects prelude donations for Cuomo

ALBANY — State government contracts are paving the way for political donations to Gov. Cuomo, a Post analysis of records reveals.

A $3.8 million project to repair a portion of the Saw Mill River Parkway in Pleasantville served as a prelude to $15,000 in contributions to Cuomo’s re-election, including from the contractor who won the bid.

According to Board of Elections records, William Schultz, owner of W.M. Schultz Construction in Saratoga County, donated $5,000 to Cuomo six months after repaving a stretch of the Saw Mill to reduce flooding.

“The project had nothing to do with the contribution,” Schultz told The Post.

Within a year after the project was complete, Cuomo received $10,000 more in contributions from four businesses near the construction site.

Two were first-time donors to Cuomo — ECCO III Enterprises, which dropped $5,000 into the governor’s campaign account, and Hughes Contracting Industries, which contributed $3,000.

The companies — all located on Saw Mill River Road just off the parkway that was paved — did not return calls for comment.