There are times when an associate is clearly superior to the made guy in an operation in terms of effectiveness but I don't know about making it official as a boss/subordinate operation. I don't think the wiseguy ego could take it. Generally it'll be a partnership deal where the associate runs the show under protection. Those types of situations give associates influence that creates some extreme power tho.. so it might not be official, but an associate who makes big money can flex his muscles even against made guys, if he has the right friends