The problem wasn’t in Saracino’s asking, it was in Stenger’s, and particularly Belmar’s, choosing to support a political ally over the very police officers who work for them. It was in two public officials’ sending a message that white, politically connected drug dealers deserve a different sort of justice than others. To date, neither of the public officials has expressed regret for his action.

So, why, then, did Saracino resign?

If he doesn’t think he did anything wrong, and his boss continues to defend him, why resign? Why accept the resignation?

In the political vernacular, Saracino became expendable.

Regardless of his inability to admit any fault, Stenger has been around long enough to know this story wasn’t doing him any favors. The way to make a bad political story go away is to find a scapegoat. Give the press a scalp and often they’ll feel their job is done and move on to the next story.

It’s a time-worn strategy.

The strategy works better, though, when the scapegoat admits some culpability and goes away quietly.