In security sciences organized crime starts to be treated as an asymmetric hazard. Organized crime covers, in the opinion of the Authors, all crimes committed within the criminal structures that are characterized by organization. Mafia is, on the one hand, a proper name for a Sicillian criminal organization, which has been used in the sense at least since the 19th century. On the other hand, it also means any criminal organization of mafia nature. In the Polish law, like in most legislations, the notion of mafia is not present. The authors try, however, to create its non-legal definition. They draw attention to the fact that the Penal Code of the Republic of Italy contains an original solution - apart from an “ordinary” criminal association (Article 416) it introduces penality for participation in an association of mafia nature (Article 416 bis). The primary purpose of this study is to analyse this structure in comparison to the origin and solution of the Italian antimafia law.