Celebrity Chef Accused Of Bank Robbing Spree
Back in February, we shared the story of a ramen shop owner placing a bounty on a customer for leaving bad reviews. Well, if you thought that’d be the only chef crashing out this year, think again.
Valentino Luchin, the celebrated former executive chef of San Francisco’s renowned Italian restaurant Rose Pistola, has been accused of robbing three banks on the same day last week. Apparently, Luchin, 62, allegedly handed notes with demands on them to bank tellers.
According to SFPD, police officers were informed of a robbery on September 10, at 12:02 p.m., that had taken place at a bank located on Grant Avenue’s 1100 block. According to the employee, the male suspect walked in and passed a note demanding money, to which they complied to avoid potentially escalating the situation. After handing over the money, the suspect immediately left.
Authorities identified Luchin with help from SFPD Ambassadors and local residents, discovering that he lived nearby before taking him into custody. Two additional banks in the Central District were also robbed under similar circumstances. He is now in jail facing charges of robbery, attempted robbery, and second-degree robbery.
This isn’t the first time Luchin has been accused of robbing a bank. He was arrested for a bank robbery in 2018, walking away with $18,000. Except, instead of a handwritten note, he used a fake gun, blaming the act on “desperation” due to financial woes. Luchin was charged with 2nd-degree robbery.
His public defender, Kwixuan Maloof, spoke with reporters about the current case: “Mr. Luchin is in his 60s. He’s a talented chef and a kind person who recently found himself in a desperate financial situation. The restaurant industry, as many are aware, has been especially difficult in recent years. The charges against him are totally overblown, and the government is trying to stretch the law to fit facts that simply are not there. We intend to challenge these charges and to expose the prosecutorial overreach in court.”
