Pedro Espada, Jr., the embattled state senator who represents a large swath of the northwest Bronx, is once again defending himself against accusations of impropriety and illegal activity.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office says it has discovered “extensive evidence” of illegal activities by Espada involving his nonprofit Soundview Healthcare Network and a private for-profit management company he created in the months leading up to his 2008 state Senate campaign. Cuomo’s office says the evidence suggests Espada funneled money from Soundview into his campaign, violating several state laws.

No charges have been filed yet, but Cuomo’s office says Espada and his attorneys have refused to cooperate with a nine-month-old investigation.

Espada, who is no stranger to this type of controversy, said the Cuomo investigation is nothing more than a “witch-hunt.”

On Jan. 13, in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, Cuomo’s office filed a “motion to compel” Espada to produce documents related to the attorney general’s investigation.  Cuomo’s office subpoenaed documents on Aug. 25, but it says Espada failed to produce all but two of them.

In a statement, Espada said he has already complied by sending “tens of thousands of documents” that Cuomo, who is eyeing a gubernatorial run later this year, has requested.

“This is an Andrew Cuomo witch-hunt driven by his political ambitions, as evidenced in the fact that our attorneys had to learn of this complaint through the media,” Espada said in the statement.

Regardless, Cuomo wants more and he will probably need it if he wants to come up with something that sticks on Espada, who has narrowly escaped punishment in the past.

Cuomo’s office says that Espada set up a for-profit management company called Soundview Management Company, which he controls. In 2008, the nonprofit Soundview Health Care Network, which Espada heads, awarded the management company a $400,000-a-year maintenance contract.

Before 2008, court documents reveal, Soundview spent $270,000 on maintenance. Cuomo’s office says that Espada’s management company didn’t do any additional work and that at least a portion of that contract money was used to pay for his 2008 campaign expenses, including a salary for his son, Pedro G. Espada.

The court filing by Cuomo’s office notes that this scenario is similar to the one that landed four of Espada’s employees in prison in 2005. Those employees pleaded guilty to “diverting monies and grants to pay campaign expenses for Espada.” It also notes that Soundview paid the legal fees for those employees, “which may also be a violation of the not-for-profit law and is currently under investigation.”

Since Espada was elected in the fall of 2008, he has been under investigation by the Bronx District Attorney for allegedly not living in the district where he was elected. His health care network is also being investigated by Cuomo’s office for possibly lying on a grant application.

Ironically, Espada took over the 33rd District Senate seat from Efrain Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty last summer to using state funds for his own personal use.

Espada is up for re-election this fall.