What was the New York Times REALLY trying to say?

I was reading this story in the Old Grey Lady yesterday about a black pastor buying some property that used to be owned by a racist Klansman and I couldn't help but notice this:

Mr. Burden adopted the doctrine of white supremacy enthusiastically. He became a grand dragon in the South Carolina branch of the Klan and developed a deep relationship with Mr. Howard that went beyond convert, according to his former wife, Judith Burden, and others in Laurens who know him.

Mr. Burden, a man with a court-documented history of substance abuse and a prison record for grand larceny and burglary, still lives nearby but could not be reached for an interview.

Beyond converting the young man to being a Klansman, what else could the Times-or Ms. Burden- mean?