So I have always been a little bit confused about this. There are 5 families total right? Every time the Corleone family mentions the 5 families they make it seem like there are 5 other families. For example during the scene where Michael comes up with the plan to kill the Turk and Captain McCluskey Tom says " The 5 Families will come after you Sonny" Wouldn't there only be 4 other families?
share'The Five Families' is a thing, 'The Four Families' isn't. Someone once explained this on this message board by saying that Tito wouldn't say "I'm going on tour with the other Jackson Four", there is no Jackson Four, he'd just say "I'm going on tour with the Jackson Five".
These are the only words I have, I'm stuck with them, stuck in themshare
Exactly this. Great explanation.
share*These are the families & Dons that attended Vito's meeting:
Carlo Tramonti (Southern US - gambling & had ties with Cuba)
Joseph Zaluchi (Detroit - gambling & horse race tracks)
Frank Falcone (West Coast - prostitution, gambling, & movie unions)
Anothony Molinary (West Coast - San Francisco Waterfronts & Sports gambling)
Dominick Panza (Boston
Vincent Forlenza (Cleveland - most powerful strictly gambling in the US)
*The 5 NY Families:
-Anthony Stracci (New Jersey - gambling, Democratic political machine, & Westside Docks of Manhattan)
-Otillio Cuneo (Upper NY State - smuggling Italian immigrants from Canada, all upstate gambling, had veto power on state licensing of race tracks)
-Emilio Barzini (some gambling in Brooklyn & Queens, prostitution, strong arm, complete control of Staten Island, some sports betting in Bronx & Westchester, narcotics, close ties to Cleveland & West Coast, interests in Reno, Las Vegas, Miami Beach, & Cuba, & influence up to Sicily)
-Phillip Tattaglia (prostitution & night clubs)
-Vito Corleone
So the White Hotel's explanation is very much correct.