California Chef Arrested After Robbing Three San Francisco Banks In a Single Day

A well-known California chef was arrested last week in San Francisco after authorities say he carried out three separate bank robberies in the span of a single day, as reported by The New York Post.

Valentino Luchin, 62, formerly the executive chef at Rose Pistola, a once-celebrated Italian restaurant in San Francisco, was taken into custody on September 10 in connection with a series of bank heists across the city, according to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).

Who Is Valentino Luchin? California Chef Arrested for Three Bank Robberies in One Day#ValentinoLuchin #SanFrancisco #BankRobbery #BreakingNews #CaliforniaCrime #RosePistola #WalnutCreek #CrimeNews #ChefLife #ViralNews https://t.co/OImlrSd0ST

— Latest News Official (@latestnews_off) September 15, 2025

Police said the first robbery occurred around 12 p.m. at a bank near Grant Avenue in Chinatown. A teller reported that the suspect handed her a handwritten note demanding money. Out of concern for safety, she complied and gave the suspect a bag of cash. Officials did not disclose the amount stolen.

Investigators from the SFPD Robbery Unit soon connected the incident to two additional bank robberies in the Central District later that day. Authorities noted similarities in the suspect’s description and method, which included handing notes to bank staff.

Community input and the city’s “ambassadors” program helped police identify Luchin as the suspected robber. “Officers determined that the suspect who committed these robberies was Luchin,” the department said.

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Law enforcement then developed a plan to apprehend him. He was arrested later that same day without incident and booked into the San Francisco County Jail.

Luchin faces two counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery. He remains in custody while awaiting formal charges.

“Valentino Luchin, 62, a former executive chef at the famed North Beach restaurant Rose Pistola and owner of the now-defunct Ottavio in Walnut Creek, was taken into custody by San Francisco police after a chaotic one-day robbery spree.” https://t.co/wK6zVzzmQ7

— Susan Dyer Reynolds ️ (@SusanDReynolds) September 15, 2025

This was not the chef’s first encounter with law enforcement over similar allegations. In 2018, Luchin was arrested after being accused of robbing a Citibank in Orinda, California, where $18,000 was taken.

Surveillance footage from that incident showed a man wearing a hood, sunglasses, and gloves while brandishing what was later revealed to be a BB gun.

At the time, Luchin told the East Bay Times in a jailhouse interview that financial hardship stemming from the closure of his Walnut Creek restaurant, Ottavio, led him to commit the crime.

“I thought it was a good plan, but it was not,” he said. Luchin claimed he never intended to harm anyone and that he wrote an apology letter to the bank teller. It is unclear if charges were ultimately filed in that case.

Born in Italy’s Veneto region, Luchin immigrated to the United States in 1993 and quickly earned recognition in the culinary world. His career suffered after Ottavio closed in 2016, leaving him with mounting debt.

Bankruptcy filings from 2015 showed that Luchin and his wife reported over $111,000 in debt with only $27,000 in assets.

“Everything went downhill,” Luchin told the East Bay Times in 2018.

“Everything became more complicated. Desperation leads you to do things you never thought you were capable of.”

The investigation into last week’s robberies is ongoing as Luchin awaits his next court appearance.

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