The New York State Department on Tuesday charged three people with possession and sale of nearly 100 pages of handwritten notes and song lyrics for Eagles’ hit album, “Hotel California.”
According to the indictment, the three men — Glenn Horowitz, 66, Craig Inciardi, 58, and Edward Kosinski, 59 — knew the documents were stolen, but nonetheless conspired to sell them. All three say they are innocent.
The notes and transcripts of Eagles co-founder Don Henley are said to have a total value of over $1 million (about €1 million). It includes handwritten lyrics for “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane”.
Stolen in the late 70’s
According to court documents, the men told auction houses and potential buyers that they had acquired the original tape material from Henley. They submitted false documents on this subject. In fact, a band biographer stole the manuscripts in the late 1970s. She sold them to Horowitz, who in turn sold them to Insiardi and Kosinski. Henley called the police when the band members discovered that Inciardi and Kosinski were in possession of the documents.
“New York is a global center for the arts and culture, and anyone wishing to trade cultural items here should follow the law closely,” said Attorney General Alvin Bragg. “These defendants owned unique and valuable manuscripts, when they knew they had no right to. They made up stories about the source of the documents so that they could make a profit.”
The lawyers of the three accused promised to “fight these false accusations vigorously.”
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