Changing meaning of original sentence

In cases where there are answer choices with slightly varied meanings, does the original sentence default as the intended meaning even if its not grammatically correct? So if there was an answer choice that was grammatically correct yet slightly altered the meaning of the original sentence it should be rejected in favor of one that adhered to the meaning of the original sentence, right?

Here's an example from one of the MGMAT tests:

The administration has increased the number of fines for mining safety violations as part of their campaign to protect miners.
A has increased the number of fines for mining safety violations as part of their
B have increased the number of fines for mining safety violations as part of their
C has increased the number of fines for mining safety violations as part of its
D has increased the amount of fines for mining safety violations as part of its
E have increased the amount of fines for mining safety violations as part of their

The correct answer is C, and the explanation they gave is that "amount" is used for uncountable items, whereas "number" is used for countable items (which is true). But I put D, thinking that they were meaning to say that the actual amount of individual fines was increasing, rather than the overall number of them. I wasn't sure if I could trust the meaning of the original sentence, since it had grammatical errors.

Here's another example:

According to Italy's top anti-Mafia prosecutor, the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town famous because of the “The Godfather” and near to those he most trusted.
A. the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town famous because of “The Godfather” and near to those he most trusted
B. famous because of “The Godfather,” the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town near to those he most trusted
C. the ailing mobster, famous because of “The Godfather,” came to take refuge in Corleone, a town near to those he most trusted
D. near to those he most trusted, the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town famous because of “The Godfather”
E. Corleone, famous because of “The Godfather,” was the town that the ailing mobster came to take refuge in because it was near to those he most trusted

In this case A, the original sentence is actually the correct answer. But I put C, which they explained was wrong because "famous because of 'The Godfather'" incorrectly modifies the mobster. You can see how C could be perceived as the correct answer since it's grammatically correct as a standalone. If anything, the meaning of the whole sentence is unclear from the beginning because it doesn't say who the ailing mobster is.