"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A Bay Area celebrity chef is facing federal charges after allegedly robbing three banks in San Francisco last year. Valentino Luchin, 62, is accused of using notes to demand cash back on September 2025. Prosecutors say he was successful in two instances and took about $ 2,800. A third attempt was unsuccessful. RELATED: Celebrity chef arrested for allegedly robbing 3 San Francisco banks on same day"
"Luchin was arrested in September and has plead not guilty to charges in San Francisco, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. It's not the first time the former executive chef of Italian North Beach-based restaurant Rose Pistola faced similar accusations. RELATED: From jail, celebrity chef claims he robbed Orinda bank Luchin was previously convicted in a 2018 bank robbery in Orinda in which he got away with more than $15,000."
Valentino Luchin, 62, faces federal charges for allegedly robbing three San Francisco banks last year by presenting notes demanding cash back in September 2025. Prosecutors allege he succeeded in two incidents, obtaining about $2,800, and failed in a third attempt. Luchin was arrested in September and has pleaded not guilty in San Francisco. The former executive chef of Rose Pistola previously was convicted in a 2018 Orinda bank robbery that resulted in more than $15,000 taken. He told ABC7 he blamed desperation for money after his former restaurant Ottavio closed in 2016.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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