Cross Recoba

The Recoba’s came across from Sicily in the seventies. With the Chicago Outfit breathing it’s last breath and Momo Giancama too Hollywood and too public to be calling the shots the hit was out. He fled to Mexico, Paul Ricca called upon his old village to provide the soldatos for their next move and with this came Pippi Recoba. A skilled wheel-man he brought with him a wife and a baby boy, Turi. His wife, Sophia, was left to raise Turi as Pippi found his way within the Chicago family. Rising up to head his own regime he was shipped off to New York to the "Dapper Don" John Gotti and worked for his number two, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. 

Santino barely knew his father because at the age of three he watched his father leave the house for the last time. Setting off to meet associates at a nearby diner he never made the meeting and theories around his disappearance hinge on whether or not he fled an unknown danger or he knew his fate before starting the engine.

Santino attended a state elementary school and was a generally happy-go-lucky child. The apple of his family’s eye he looked forward to visits from his Uncle Bruno, his missing father’s brother. Bruno would indulge the child in all his worst habits - junk food, music and, even at his tender age, an appreciation of the female form. 

At Junior High Aspanu Guilano came into the life of Cross. A fellow son of an immigrant family they bonded over their disparate roots and lack of acceptance from the large majority of students. His seemingly ‘All-American’ appearance could not detract from his distinctive name and so would often be met with slurs about the Mafia and nicknamed the ‘Albino Guinea’ by his peers. Aspanu saved Cross from a sure beating at the hands of a student who took exception to Cross' possession of a face with an intent to use it. With this came a friendship that has lasted to this day.

A varsity wide-receiver at high school, off the field he was an above average student, displaying a great aptitude towards figures and business and was seen by his teachers as a good all-round prospect. A high-school injury quickly put any dreams of a football scholarship to rest.Without an outlet with which to forget about his troubles Cross floundered for a while and messed up his SAT exams which put paid to dreams of an Ivy League college.

He was sent to Las Vegas to join up with Alberto Costello, who had been friends with Cross’ family back to the times in Sicily. Having come to America in the fifties as a teenager he had established a wide reach of power that swept from California to Nevada, the once neutral state having been awarded to Costello in the late eighties after the whole mess with Gotti. At first he simply worked at the hotel and in the casino. He was fast-tracked from dealer to the floor manager within eight months and although this caused unrest upon his work colleagues he managed to always make money for Costello, at times underpaying himself in order to look better, and thus the promotion seemed legitimate. At the age of nineteen he was making the money a college graduate would make within in their first five years of working and life seemed good. It was at the juncture that Costello started to ask Cross to supervise ‘ancillary’ jobs , as he put it.

Now listed as VP of Operations and Communications at The Sands Hotel he has combined his employment with stints wrestling in promotions around America. Those with a keen eye will recognize him appear frequently with high-profile visitors to the hotel. Rumors of what his title actually means have led several people to believe that all is not above board at the Las Vegas hotel.