Suffolk County executive, police union pan Supreme Court decision

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and the county's Police Benevolent Association want a do-over.

Both have asked State Supreme Court Justice Peter Mayerto vacate his decision upholding the validity of a 2011 deputy sheriff's union contract that allowed deputies to patrol the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway until 2017 in return for $4 million in concessions.

County attorneys say Mayer made a "declaratory judgment . . . without first calling for an evidentiary hearing of any kind" to prove the original contract was valid. The county and the union have appealed.

Terry O'Neil, attorney for the deputies, called the county's logic "tortured and baseless." "The court did not overlook and misapprehend any issues," O'Neil said. "That the county is displeased with the result, does not warrant reargument."-- Rick Brand