Star Chef Arrested Following Three Bank Robberies

ijr.com

A once-celebrated chef is now at the center of a baffling criminal investigation — accused of robbing not one, not two, but three banks in a single afternoon.

Valentino Luchin, 62, was arrested and booked into San Francisco County Jail after police say he went on a rapid-fire bank robbery spree through the city’s Central District. Known to foodies and locals alike as a co-owner of Ottavio and the former executive chef of a well-known North Beach restaurant, Luchin is now facing serious allegations that could erase his career — and possibly his freedom.

It’s a story that sounds almost too surreal to believe.

Police say it started with a quiet entrance. A man, reportedly calm and composed, walked into a bank on Grant Avenue near Chinatown. According to witnesses, he didn’t make a scene. Instead, he handed the teller a handwritten note. No shouting. No visible weapon. Just words on paper.

The note, according to police, demanded money.

The teller complied.

Shaken employees handed over a bag filled with cash. The man took it and left. Smooth. Quiet. Intentional.

But that wasn’t the end.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, two more banks were targeted that same day — all within the same Central District neighborhood. Authorities say the method was nearly identical in each case: a note, a demand, compliance, and a clean exit.

Tips soon began pouring in from the public, including from members of SFPD’s “ambassadors” program — a community-based network designed to help identify suspects in high-profile cases. And that’s when Luchin’s name surfaced.

He was arrested and remanded into custody. At the time of this writing, formal charges are still pending.

But this isn’t Luchin’s first brush with the law.

Back in 2018, the chef made headlines for a very similar reason — another bank robbery. That time, the scene was a Citibank in Orinda, California. Surveillance video showed a man in a hoodie, white gloves, and black sunglasses entering the branch and reportedly flashing a semi-automatic BB gun.

He walked out with $18,000.

Luchin was arrested later that day at his home, where police say they found the cash — and the pellet gun. He later admitted to the East Bay Times that he thought the plan was “a good one,” before conceding, “But it was not.”

In that interview, he insisted he never meant to hurt anyone. He said the gun was fake, that he didn’t know how to load a real one. He even claimed to have written an apology letter to the teller he threatened.

The outcome of that 2018 arrest remains unclear. There are no public records of charges filed or convictions. That incident faded from headlines — until now.

Now, nearly seven years later, Luchin is once again in the spotlight. But this time, it’s not for his risotto.

Police have released images of the stolen cash and confirmed that more evidence is being processed. The investigation is ongoing. Authorities have not commented on a potential motive.

Was it desperation? A double life? Or something else?

For now, Valentino Luchin remains in custody, and the city is left wondering how a man once praised in food columns may have become the face of a very different kind of story — one unfolding behind teller windows, handwritten notes, and unspoken questions.

And the biggest question of all: Why now?