Hotel California: Hearing Begin, Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinki have been charged with conspiracy.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin Wednesday in the trial of three men accused of an alleged plot to sell handwritten notes from Eagles founding member Don Henley and nearly 100 stolen pages of lyrics from the Eagles’ landmark album. band, “Hotel California.”
Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi, and Edward Kosinki are accused of planning together in the case.They didn’t do it, all of them say.
The charges say the people had stolen papers with words from popular songs like “Hotel California,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and “New Kid in Town.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said that despite knowing the materials were stolen, the defendants allegedly attempted to sell the manuscripts, fabricating false attributions and deceiving auction houses, potential buyers and law enforcement. origin of the materials.
Court papers say that someone who was supposed to write a biography about the Eagles took the manuscripts without permission back in the late 1970s. The indictment alleges that the biographer eventually sold the manuscripts in 2005 to Horowitz, a rare book dealer, who in turn sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski.
When Henley discovered they were trying to sell parts of the manuscripts, he filed a police report, told the defendants that the materials had been stolen and demanded the return of his property, according to prosecutors. Instead of making any effort to ensure that they actually had rightful ownership, the defendants allegedly responded by engaging in a years-long campaign to prevent Henley from recovering the manuscripts.
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According to the indictment, Horowitz and Inciardi fabricated the provenance (ownership records) of the manuscripts and attempted to use that false claim of provenance to force Henley to repurchase the stolen property from him. While attempting to sell the manuscripts through Christie’s, Inciardi allegedly lied and withheld information about Henley’s claims.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office found Henley’s stolen writing at Sotheby’s and Kosinski’s home in New Jersey, which included 84 pages of “Hotel California” song lyrics.
Shortly thereafter, Horowitz attempted to take advantage of the death of Eagles founding member Glenn Frey to avoid criminal prosecution: he allegedly submitted a new false statement of origin, this time claiming that the material came from Frey.
“Sadly, he is deceased and identifying him as the source would put an end to this forever,” prosecutors quoted Horowitz in an email.