In a rare joint news conference Wednesday, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi (D) and District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced a holiday crackdown on drunk driving.

Beginning Wednesday night, Suozzi says extra patrol cars and DWI checkpoints will be in place for the holiday season. He says fatal accidents caused by alcohol are wholly avoidable, and the county is committed to keeping potential drunk drivers at bay.

Rice says she will prosecute every drunk driver to the fullest extent of the law. Plea bargains for DWI defendants have been a source of controversy recently on Long Island, and Rice maintains she will not make any deals. Despite Nassau's no plea bargain pledge, critics in Suffolk say DWI cases would tie up the courts without them.

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