"Associated to" is used extensively by academics, both by native and non-native speakers. There is some interesting collocation cross-overs going on with this. Compare:
1) compared with vs. compared to
2) connected with vs. connected to
3) associated with vs. associated to
4) married with* vs. married to
5) living with vs. living to*
6) contrasted with vs. contrasted to
7) likened with vs. likened to
8) incorporated with vs incorporated
into9) we talked
with one another vs. we talked
to each other
The difference between 'compared to' and 'compared with' is perhaps better known, with 'likened to' meaning 'likened to', different to 'compared with', which means 'contrasted with'. Most people can see this distinction when it's pointed out.
Some of the other instances mentioned seem to show 'with' and 'to' being totally synonymous, but 'married with...' and 'living to...' show that there are limits to this equivelance. I would suggest that this similarily in basic semantics (they relate to connections - both the participle and the preposition) means that the conventions of one participle can easily 'hop' across to other similar participles.
If you were really looking for a distinction between 'with' and 'to', you can explore the strength of connection. The word 'with' suggests 'alongside', two things that are in proximity but only loosely affecting each other: 'We talk with one another'. Compare this to 'we are talking to each other', which suggests a more abiding state of affairs. And also: 'Your hip bone is connected to your leg bone'.