Three men were arrested for allegedly possessing and trying to sell stolen handwritten notes for the popular Eagles album “Hotel California,” prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Manhattan resident Glenn Horowitz, 66, Brooklyn resident Craig Inciardi, 58, and New Jersey resident Edward Kosinski, 59, were arrested in connection to the crime. Horowitz, Inciardi, and Kosinski are all charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree. Inciardi and Kosinski were also charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, while Horowitz is charged with Attempted Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree and two counts of Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree.
“New York is a world-class hub for art and culture, and those who deal cultural artifacts must scrupulously follow the law. There is no room for those who would seek to ignore the basic expectations of fair dealing and undermine the public’s confidence and trust in our cultural trade for their own ends,” said District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. “These defendants attempted to keep and sell these unique and valuable manuscripts, despite knowing they had no right to do so. They made up stories about the origin of the documents and their right to possess them so they could turn a profit.”
According to court documents, the original manuscripts, which contained 100 pages of Don Henley’s handwritten notes and lyrics for the Eagles album Hotel California, including lyrics to the songs “Hotel California,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and “New Kid In Town,” were stolen from the band in the 1970s by an author who was hired to write a biography of the Eagles. The biographer allegedly sold the manuscripts to Horowitz, a rare books dealer, in 2005, and Horowitz allegedly sold them to Inciadri and Kosinski.
When Henley learned that Inciardi and Kosinski were allegedly trying to sell portions of the manuscripts, he filed police reports, told the two that the materials were stolen and demanded that they return his property. However, instead of making any effort to ensure that they had rightful ownership, Inciardi and Kosinski allegedly engaged Henley in a years-long campaign to prevent him from getting the manuscripts back.
Horowitz and Inciardi allegedly worked together to fabricate the manuscripts’ place of origin, and between 2012 and 2017, Kosinski and Inciardi allegedly attempted to use a false statement of provenance to coerce Henley into buying back his stolen property. At the same time, the two were trying to sell the manuscripts through Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses. When trying to sell it through Christie’s, Inciardi allegedly lied and withheld information regarding Henley’s claims. Inciardi and Kosinski also allegedly requested that Sotheby’s hide Henley’s claims from potential buyers prior to offering the manuscripts for sale at a public auction in 2016.
In December 2016, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office executed a series of search warrants and allegedly retrieved the stolen manuscripts from Sotheby’s and from Kosinski’s home in New Jersey, including 84 pages of songs from the album “Hotel California.” Shortly afterwards, Horowitz allegedly attempted to exploit the death of founding Eagles member Glenn Frey to criminal prosecution by producing a new false statement of provenance claiming that the materials originated from the now-deceased Frey. In one email, Horowitz allegedly wrote that “[Frey] alas, is dead and identifying him as the source would make this go away once and for all.”
The manuscripts are collectively valued at over $1 million.
“The DA’s office alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals. We will fight these unjustified charges vigorously. These men are innocent,” said attorneys Jonathan Bach (representing Horowitz), Stacey Richman (Inciardi), and Antonia Apps (Kosinski) in a joint statement.
Updated at 4:41 p.m. on July 12, 2022.
