TAMPA – — Mitchell Stone thought a party bus that people could rent for Sweet 16 parties, proms and other events would be a popular asset, his father said.

Stone was having financial problems, court records show.

The 40-foot former transit bus with black windows landed Stone, a group of strippers and their colleagues in legal trouble that has sparked discussion about the zoning of adult businesses.

Tampa police said Stone, who owns and operates Gala Transportation Inc., rented the bus for $500 to seven strippers and two employees of Deja Vu, an Adamo Drive strip club. He drove the group Nov. 27 to a parking lot near Raymond James Stadium, where the strippers, offering alcohol and nude lap dances, entertained Buccaneers fans before kickoff, police said.

It was the fourth time this season the club rented the bus for this purpose, Stone told police.

Undercover officers raided the bus in Lot 14 on West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard after seeing fliers advertising it. Police arrested 11 people: Stone, the Deja Vu employees and a customer accused of smoking marijuana.

Sgt. Bill Todd said prosecutors and investigators will meet this week to review the case and the charges.

Stone, who turned 30 Friday, declined to comment on the case, referring questions to attorney Luke Lirot, who also represents the strip-club employees. Lirot could not be reached for comment.

Stone’s parents, who live in Palm Harbor, said he is a hardworking father of three children. “I don’t think he did anything wrong,” said his father, Mark Stone. “He just rented a bus for the day.”

Terese Stone said her son this year volunteered buses to emergency workers to evacuate people from the Gulf Coast during hurricane season.

“He’s a great guy,” she said. “He’s a good businessman.”

As a result of the raid, county commissioners on Wednesday plan to discuss tightening county ordinances that could pertain to mobile adult-entertainment venues.

The strippers are accused of violating two city ordinances that prohibit nudity in a commercial establishment and in a place where alcohol is being served. Two of them also are accused of performing oral sex on each other and were charged with performing an unnatural and lascivious act, a misdemeanor under state statute.

Stone and the other strip-club employees — a manager and a bouncer — each face two misdemeanor charges related to selling liquor without a license. Stone also faces a misdemeanor charge of renting space for lewdness.

Lirot said last week that the club rented the bus to drum up business. He suggested the charges were zoning issues, not moral ones, saying, “How would you have any zoning impact if you’re in a different zone every few feet?”

Todd said Friday that police consulted with the city attorney before the raid and thought the charges were appropriate. At the time, the bus was parked on private property owned by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he said. Furthermore, the state statute that prevents renting space for lewdness doesn’t distinguish between stationary and mobile businesses, Todd said.

Public records show Stone purchased the 1987 vehicle last year from Broward County. The police impound lot has released the bus to him, Todd said.

Before the purchase, Stone, his wife, Lillian, and his father operated another bus-charter company, Tourlink Inc., which fell on hard times. They were sued over nonpayment of equipment leases for several buses, public records show. Mitchell and Lillian Stone filed for individual bankruptcy in 2003 and again two months ago, most recently listing debts of up to $500,000 and seeking a repayment plan from the court rather than liquidation.

Mark Stone said the party bus was a new idea for his son.

“He built that bus himself,” he said. “He just felt there was a niche, and he did what he had to do.”