It looks like BetonSports is circling its wagons ’round the old “rotten apple” defense. On Monday it gave the boot to CEO David Carruthers, currently enjoying the hospitality of the U.S. penal system. “Clearly, while he remains in the custody of the U.S. government he is unable to perform his duties,” ran a company statement. Way to stand by your employees, BetonSports! Get caught and you’re on your own, buddy.

In a move surely aimed at putting the blame squarely on Carruthers, BetonSports said company founder Gary Kaplan was uninvolved in BetonSports’ day-to-day operations. Meanwhile, Kaplan remains safely holed up in Costa Rica, famous as the onetime hangout of fugitive financier Robert Vesco.

While the Carruthers bust has satisfied the U.S. government’s short-term aim of shuttering operations at BetonSports, at least for the moment, will it have any long-range effect? The New York Times takes a long look and concludes that Congress can make life difficult for ‘Net betting operations but can’t shut them down.

As for BetonSports estimated 84,000 punters, the Wall Street Journal says they have little to fear. Additional coverage of the scapegoating of Carruthers is provided by the Guardian. As foolhardy as some of Carruthers’ recent actions have been, BetonSports’ cold disavowal of him is downright shabby. As one of the hired killers in Ronin says, “Everyone’s your brother ’til the rent comes due.”