He is a known 'associate' of criminals. [=he is known to associate with criminals; people know that he works with or spends time with criminals]
She was promoted from assistant editor to 'associate' editor and may soon be promoted to senior editor.
He was 'associated' [='connected, identified'] 'with' a group of radicals in the government.
(..) - Chicago? - Yeah. - It's cold there. - Aw, come on. I promised I'd be the clown. - I don't know. If I could drag an associate along to help with interviews so I don't fall behind. Uh, Feller? - Any interest? Chicago? - Oh, gee, I don't know. I mean, like you said, (..)2005 In Her Shoes