Top Suffolk deputy exec quietly made permanent

Without fanfare, County Executive Steve Bellone earlier this month made permanent his temporary appointment of County Attorney Dennis Cohen as his chief deputy and bumped up his annual salary to $177,793 — more than a 10 percent raise.

Cohen will be making the same salary as his predecessor Regina Calcaterra who left to work for the state Moreland Commission, which is probing LIPA. The move leaves the $160,722 a year county attorney job open. Bellone aides they are reviewing candidates, but sources say the leading contenders include current staffers Dennis Brown, bureau chief of municipal law and Lynne Bizzarro, deputy county attorney.