Celebrity chef Valentino Luchin, 62, was arrested Wednesday after allegedly robbing three banks in one day across San Francisco. The Italian-born former head chef of Walnut Creek’s Ottavio restaurant was identified as the suspect who passed a demand note to a teller at a Chinatown bank that afternoon. Police say Luchin also robbed two other banks in the Central District the same day. Community leads helped investigators track him down. This marks Luchin’s second arrest for bank robbery. In 2018, he was charged with using a BB gun to steal at least $18,000 from a Citibank in Orinda before fleeing in a Mercedes. During a KGO interview then, Luchin said he’d been “struggling a lot financially” after his restaurant closed and had gotten desperate. “I feel bad,” he said. “It wasn’t something I was planning [on] doing for a living.” Bail is set at $200,000 for charges including robbery and attempted robbery. (Story URL)
