Remember Tom talking to Frankie at the Army Base? He tells him that it was he who came up with the idea of the regimes, etc. If so, that almost makes Frankie a Cosa Nostra founding father.
Not exactly. Tom says, "You were around the old timers -- and meeting up on how the family should be organized." That certainly makes Frankie an old timer, and perhaps a voice in the organization of families, but not the inventor.
I just can't buy Frankie as a capo heading up a family. The fact that Mike tells him that the family name is still Corleone means little. Afterall, the five families in NY are still named after dead dons. I don't think there is a real life parallel for a capo heading a family, is there? He was a don with full control of the family with Mike capable of directing things at his discretion just like Tony Accardo could direct Sam Giancana in Chicago.
Another possible parallel: For years, Fat Tony Salerno fronted for Vincent (the Chin) Gigante as Don of the Genovese family.
