This brings to a slithering close a sad chapter in Jersey politics.

Federal prosecutors told the judge that Bridgegate conspirator David Wildstein should get no prison time because without his cooperation there’d be no case against Chris Christie’s other appointees. True, but without Wildstein there would have been no Bridgegate. As Christie’s Port Authority hatchet man, Wildstein concocted the scheme, came up with the “traffic study” cover story and executed the George Washington Bridge lane closures to exact revenge against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not endorsing the reelection of the Republican governor.

Like some movie bad guy, Wildstein even showed up on the first day, as Fort Lee suffered the mother of all traffic jams, to admire his handiwork.

Wildstein is a snake who also happens to be a rat. He, thank goodness, retained the incriminating emails that sunk Bridget Kelly (18 months in jail) and Bill Baroni (two years).

But he is still the central villain, and ought to have been locked up for at least some modest stretch. The hero was PA executive director Pat Foye, who blew the whistle, earning the wrath of former Port chairman David Samson and Christie.

It’s all a fitting denouement to the Jersey governor’s second term. With a few months left in office and approval ratings stinking worse than the worst stretch of the Turnpike, he spends his time yammering on sports talk radio and lounging on the beach. Having escaped prison, maybe Wildstein will soon be joining him on the sand.