Chef accused of robbing three San Francisco banks in one day

A California chef was arrested last week on suspicion of robbing three San Francisco banks in a single day, police said.

Valentino Luchin, 62, who is originally from Italy, was booked on charges of robbery and attempted robbery after investigators were called to a bank on Grant Avenue on Sept. 10. San Francisco police said Luchin demanded money in a note to an employee.

The employee provided him with a bag of U.S. currency because of safety fears, police said in a news release.

"On the same day, two additional bank robberies occurred in the Central District involving a similar suspect description and modus operandi (MO)," police said. "Officers determined that the suspect who committed these robberies was Luchin."

Court records show Luchin was arraigned Friday and remained in the county jail Wednesday.

In a statement, Luchin's attorney described him as 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," San Francisco County Deputy Public Defender Kwixuan Maloof said. "The charges against him are totally overblown, and the government is trying to stretch the law to fit facts that simply are not there."

Luchin once served up delicious dishes at Rose Pistola, an acclaimed — and now shuttered — Italian restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. A former owner, Laurie Thomas, said Luchin worked briefly as the restaurant's executive chef more than 18 years ago.

"Sad to see this," she said.

Luchin later opened his own Italian restaurant in Walnut Creek, which closed in 2016, according to local media reports from the time.

Two years later, Luchin was arrested in connection with an armed robbery at a Citibank in Contra Costa County. Court records weren't immediately available in that case, but Luchin admitted to attempting to rob a bank in jailhouse interviews at the time.

He told KGO-TV that he used a BB gun and was handed thousands from the bank teller. Luchin described his actions as an act of desperation.

"We've been struggling a lot financially, and I have a family," Luchin told the station then. "I feel bad. It wasn't something I was planning or doing for a living."

Luchin gave a similar account to the East Bay Times after his arrest, saying he was unable to get work that paid enough after his business went under. He said he wrote a letter to the bank clerk apologizing for what happened.

“My action wasn’t aggressive,” he told the newspaper. “It was a fake gun. I don’t even know how to load a real gun.”