Who is Valentino Luchin? Celebrated California chef arrested for committing multiple bank heists in one day

According to the San Francisco Police Department, Luchin, 62, the former executive chef at the renowned Italian eatery Rose Pistola in San Francisco, broke into three banks across the city by delivering handwritten letters to the tellers requesting cash.

Around 12 pm, police were called to a heist at a bank in Chinatown close to Grant Avenue.

Valentino Luchin ran away after bank robbery

When the police arrived, one of the tellers told them that the suspect had given her a letter requesting money, and she had obliged out of fear for their safety.

The suspect ran away from the bank after receiving a bag of money. Authorities did not disclose the amount of money he was able to pilfer.

Luchin was promptly recognized as the alleged bank robber following an investigation by the city’s Robbery Unit.

After seeing parallels in the suspect’s description and robbery technique, police linked the Italian-born chef to two further Central District bank heists that same day.

Authorities said that community tips and SFPD “ambassadors” program participants helped them identify Luchin as the alleged bank thief.

“Officers determined that the suspect who committed these robberies was Luchin,” police stated in a statement.

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Here’s who police arrested Valentino Luchin

The Police subsequently developed a strategic plan that resulted in Luchin’s capture without additional incident.

Luchin was taken into custody at the San Francisco County Jail later the same day in relation to the three bank robberies.

Two charges of robbery and one case of attempted robbery have been brought against him. While official charges are pending, the former chef is still being held.

The Walnut Creek chef and former proprietor of Ottavio, which permanently shuttered its doors in 2016, had previously been charged with bank robbery.

In 2018, the East Bay Times reported that Luchin was apprehended for reportedly stealing $18,000 from a Citibank in Orinda, California.