It shall be an affirmative defense to any prosecution
or administrative proceeding brought for the violation of any section
of this chapter pertaining to the retention of articles obtained in
the course of business operations, that, in the case of precious metals,
retention for the time period required would have resulted in serious
and substantial economic losses to the dealer, or the probability
of such losses was significant, due to rapid and highly fluctuating
market conditions, provided the persons so charged shall prove the
existence of the market conditions giving rise to the aforesaid defense
by a preponderance of the evidence. Market conditions, in order to
be a defense hereunder, must be such that financial analysts would
characterize trading as at or approaching a level or occurrence in
an atmosphere of panic so as to clearly distinguish trading conditions
from normal variations in market movement in response to economic
news or other events.
A.
Any police officer, upon showing a badge and proper
identification, shall be given any information from all of the above
classes of businesses that is legitimately required in the execution
of his duties. This shall include, but not be limited to, names of
employees and any and all records concerning transactions over the
past 24 months.
[Amended 6-17-1993 by Ord. No. 474]
Any person who violates any provision of this
chapter shall, if such violation is his/her first, be subject upon
conviction therefor in a summary proceeding, to a fine not more than
$600, shall pay the costs of prosecution or in default of payment
undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Each subsequent violation
shall constitute a summary offense and, upon conviction therefor,
shall subject each person to additional fines and costs. Each day
during which a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
