I thought we settled this a 100 years ago. Puzo initially refrred to the five families that controlled Newy York and New Jersey. The Corleones were one of them. For artistic and poetic reason, he kept refering to the five families in a generic sense such as someone else has already pointed out the Board. it would have been awkward to start refering in the novel to the four families.

The Molinaris were never part of the five any more than the Zaluchis or Falcones were. You have to read the novel more closely and rememeber what it says.

Tom never tells Sonny that the five families would come after the Corleones. He says that the other families would and the Corleones would be outcasts.

Madonne!