Evansville- Some Newton Avenue residents have begun a push, including contacting police and circulating a petition, to get an alleged pornographic business out of their neighborhood.

But it’s a business the owner says doesn’t exist, and police back him up.

Residents along the residential street behind Showplace Cinemas-East called police Tuesday to investigate whether Roy Klotz was selling X-rated movies out of a converted school bus parked beside his 1800 Newton Ave. home.

An investigating officer said the complaints were unfounded.

Klotz told police he bought all the merchandise from an adult video store at Bicknell, Ind., and was using the bus tostore the material until he could sell it.

That prompted a letter of notice of violation from the Area Plan Commission regarding parking a commercial vehicle in a residential neighborhood. But when Klotz on Wednesday told zoning administrator Beverly Behme the bus was licensed as a recreational vehicle, she said the complaint would be investigated further.

While one cannot operate a commercial enterprise in a residential neighborhood, Behme said if the bus had been converted to a camper, it wouldn’t be regarded as permanent storage.

Tina Griffin, who lives next door to Klotz, said she and other nearby residents are upset, because they noticed pornographic material and a sign in the front window of the bus that said “XXX movies inside.” Griffin, along with two other nearby residents Mark Hooks, 18, and Bryan Dooley, 15, were asking people along the street Tuesday to sign a petition to have the bus removed.

They allege explicit pornographic materials had been visible through the windows. Klotz, though, called the allegations he was selling pornography from the bus “ridiculous.”

Griffin has covered over the windows of her 14-old-daughter’s bedroom which look out toward the bus from about 20 feet away. One of the movie illustrations visible through the windows, she said, was of a nude couple having sex.

“It’s bad enough about kids learning about this on their own,” she said, “without having it right next door.”

Neither the sign nor pornographic materials were visible when a reporter visited the site Tuesday.

Klotz characterized the complaint as the latest in a series from neighbors who had complained in the past about where he parked on the street and about his son playing a drum set in his garage.

“Nobody is coming and going (from the bus),” Klotz said, terming the complaints harassment. Klotz said he was converting the bus to an RV and planned to use it to “haul stuff.”

“You should mind your own business,” Klotz said of his neighbors. “That’s the way I was brought up.”

Police department spokes-man Officer Brian Talsma said the department had received three complaints about Klotz since July 27. The first was about the bus being parked in his drive and the other two were lodged Tuesday about alleged sale of pornographic materials. Talsma said investigators had found no evidence to support any of the complaints.

Behme said Klotz told her he planned to sleep in the bus when he sold merchandise at flea markets in other states.

Both Griffin and another nearby resident, Amber Barrera, said they were concerned the bus was parked near where children gathered to catch the school bus.

“To me, it’s enticing our children,” Barrera said. “We’ve had a good, clean neighborhood for years.”