Cheers for the replies so far.
I guess it's rather difficult to estimate these things. Let's say if a criminal from another gang associates himself with a certain made guy...he probably has other people in his entourage as well. Do they count as mob associates?
How far does cooperation between a certain criminal and a made man in the mob go before one is regarded as a mob associate? If a wiseguy provided a Dominican drug trafficker with some services a couple of months ago or if some Bloods gang member once did a hit for some mobster...are they regarded as "associates"?

It ain't easy to find out.