SACRAMENTO -- A long investigation by the California attorney general's office has come up virtually empty.

Former Merced County district attorney Gordon Spencer won't need to repay more than the $27,000 ordered by Attorney General Jerry Brown last week, Merced County attorney James Fincher said Wednesday.

Last week Merced County announced it would not seek criminal charges against Spencer.

Spencer, who had been Merced County DA since 1990, was accused by the attorney general of improperly receiving reimbursements for car and cell phone use from Merced County.

An investigation by the Merced Sun-Star last year claimed to have uncovered $57,000 in improper car and phone reimbursements and also won the paper several journalism awards.

In May last year, then-attorney general Bill Lockyer launched a criminal investigation into the newspaper's allegations about Spencer. Its findings last week did not recommend filing criminal charges against the former DA, who has since retired, because of a likely lack of evidence.

Merced County likewise figured there was little chance of gaining more repayment from Spencer than the $27,000 he has reportedly already paid. "I don't think there's any reasonable chance the county would prevail in that effort," said Fincher.