Telemarketers are known for being persistent. D.C. telemarketing regulators are anything but. Two years ago, the D.C. Council passed legislation that required telemarketers to register with the District and established civil and criminal penalties for phone fraud. Under the law, Mayor Anthony A. Williams was required to appoint a task force on the issue and to set up a fraud-prevention fund with fines collected from offenders. According to a Sept. 23 report by D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols, though, there is neither a task force nor a fund: “[T]he Mayor has not taken any action to implement the provisions of the Telephone Fraud Amendment Act of 2000.” Williams spokesperson Tony Bullock downplays the findings: “It’s not as though there’s been any misuse of funds or impropriety with the account.” The law, Bullock says, is “obviously a piece of legislation that no one seems particularly aware of.” —Chris Shott