Puzo said after GF was released that, growing up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of NYC, he was aware only of the lowest-level street activity of the Mafia. As a gambler who owed money to loan sharks (the reason he wrote the novel), he was also aware of how illegal gambling worked. That's what he admitted to.
Hard to know how Dons are referred to--never spoke to one.
I can’t say I’ve spoken to one either lol. Did he do a lot of research about the inner workings? Because he really talked more about the upper level of the mafia than the lower level. But many monsters believe that The Godfather for the most part was very accurate. That also could be a credit to Coppola perhaps being familiar with the inner workings of the mafia
