Renowned California chef arrested for robbing three banks on the same day

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - A renowned California chef has been arrested for allegedly pulling off three bank robberies in one day in San Francisco last week. 

Valentino Luchin, 62, the former executive chef at beloved Italian restaurant Rose Pistola in San Francisco, struck three different banks across the city on September 10 by passing handwritten notes to the tellers demanding money, according to the San Francisco Police Department. 

Officers responded to a robbery at a bank near Grant Avenue in Chinatown around 12 p.m. 

Upon arrival, one of the tellers informed police that the suspect had handed her a note demanding cash, and, out of concern for their safety, she had complied. 

After being handed a bag of cash, the suspect fled. Officials did not reveal how much money he managed to steal.   

An investigation launched by the city’s Robbery Unit quickly identified Luchin as the suspected bank robber. 

Cops tied the Italian-born chef to two more Central District bank heists that same day after spotting similarities in the suspect’s description and robbery style. 

Authorities also stated that members of the SFPD’s “ambassadors” program and community tips contributed to their identification of Luchin as the suspected bank robber. 

“Officers determined that the suspect who committed these robberies was Luchin,” police said. 

Police then “formulated a strategic plan that led to Luchin’s apprehension without further incident.” 

Luchin was arrested later that same day in connection with the three bank robberies and booked into the San Francisco County Jail. 

He has been charged with two counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery. The former chef remains in custody while awaiting formal charges.

This isn’t the first time the chef and former owner of Ottavio in Walnut Creek, which closed its doors for good in 2016, has been accused of robbing a bank. 

Luchin was previously arrested for allegedly robbing a Citibank in Orinda, California, where $18,000 was stolen in 2018, East Bay Times reported. 

Security footage caught a hooded man in dark shades and white gloves armed with a BB gun. 

Following his arrest, Luchin told the outlet in a jailhouse interview that he resorted to robbing the bank out of “desperation” over the collapse of Ottavio. 

“I thought it was a good plan, but it was not,” he said, adding that he never intended to hurt anyone. 

“My action wasn’t aggressive. It was a fake gun. I don’t even know how to load a real gun.” 

Luchin claimed that he wrote an apology letter to the teller he allegedly threatened. 

It’s unclear if he was ever charged in connection with the robbery. 

Born in Italy’s Veneto region, Luchin immigrated to the US in 1993 and quickly became a rising star in the culinary world. 

However, after Walnut Creek was shut down, leaving him with a substantial financial burden, he said his life began spiraling out of control. 

“Everything went downhill,” Luchin told East Bay Times. “Everything became more complicated.” 

Desperation leads you to do things you never thought you were capable of,” he added. 

Bankruptcy records from 2015, obtained by the outlet, revealed that Luchin and his wife had fallen behind on their Chapter 13 plan, with more than $111,000 in debt and only $27,000 in assets to their name.