Well-known chef facing charges in San Francisco after 3 bank robberies

Audio By Carbonatix

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A well-known chef who robbed a northern California bank in 2018 is facing charges again after three bank robberies in central San Francisco last week, according to police.

Officers responding to an alarm around noon on Sept. 10 learned that a man passed a note demanding money to an employee, who complied in fear for their life, according to a San Francisco Police Department news release. The man then fled with a bag of money, police said. With help from the community, investigators identified the suspect as Valentino Luchin, 62, of San Francisco and arrested him, police said.

There were two other banks robberies in the central district that day involving a suspect with a similar description and methods and police also charged Luchin with those robberies, police said.

Luchin was charged with robbery and attempted robbery, police said. He’s being held on $200,000 bail, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s website.

The public defender listed in online court records for the case declined to comment immediately on Luchin’s behalf, saying he needed to review the case.

Local news outlets report that Luchin was known for his work at Italian restaurants such as such as Rose Pistola and Ottavio. He was charged in a 2018 bank robbery in Contra Costa County and told KGO-TV during an interview at a detention facility at the time, “I went inside and said ‘good morning. Nobody move. This is a robbery.’”

Luchin said he was desperate after his restaurant Ottavio in Walnut closed in 2016.

“We’ve been struggling a lot financially and I have a family,” Luchin said. “I feel bad. It wasn’t something I was planning or doing for a living.”

Luchin pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree robbery in 2018 and was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years probation, according to Contra Costa County District Attorney’s spokesperson Ted Asregadoo.