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This Connecticut pawn shop has a message for Putin

And when people ask about the rocket, he tells them about the fundraiser he is formulating.

NORWICH, Conn. — A business in Norwich is creating quite a bit of conversation with their response to the crisis in Ukraine.

The A-Z Pawn & Guns has all sorts of things for sale, but what's been mounted on their roof since Wednesday is not among those items up for grabs.

Phil Pavone, the owner of the store, was not about to pawn off an opportunity to help Ukraine.

"Everybody is very, very upset with what's going on right now in Ukraine and it's horrible," Pavone said.

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But he is one of many trying to raise money for Ukrainian refugees. So, he needed an attention-getter, which the rocket mounted to the rooftop, with the message, "To Russia With Love," is. 

"This rocket is made out of Sonotubes and a construction cone and a little bit of plywood," Pavone said.

The reaction, he says, has been all positive.

"People drive by beeping their horns all day long, thumbs up," he said. "It's just a fun situation in bad times."

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And when people ask about the rocket, he tells them about the fundraiser he is formulating.

"There was a priest that actually worked here in Norwich years ago, who is now in Poland," Pavone said. And that priest is part of an organization that is starting to accept Ukrainian refugees. 

"When I put the word out, thousands of people find out about it," he said. "So, I am very sure that I can raise thousands."

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In 1983, the Russians shot down a Korean Airlines passenger jet that took off from New York. Pavone, who owned a bar at the time, basically used the same rocket in helping to raise $4,000.

"When we took the rocket from the top of the roof and put it in the bar itself, people would come in and put cash inside the rocket," Pavone shared.

When asked how the rocket would have enough power to reach Russia, Pavone said, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, the rocket is powered by 80 gallons of Russian vodka, mixed in with about 20 pounds of sunflower seeds.

Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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