On June 11, a total of three individuals were charged with conspiring to illegally possess and sell 100 pages of notes and lyrics from the Eagles' album "Hotel California," including Don Henley's lyrics to "Hotel California," "Life in the Fast Lane," and "New Kid In Town."
A band biographer allegedly took the handwritten papers in the 1970s and sold them to rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz in 2005. Horowitz is one of the three individuals indicted on Tuesday.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office claims that Horowitz then sold them to Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski.
Included in the charges are conspiracy, illegal possession of stolen property, and obstruction of justice.
"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," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
After realizing that Inciardi and Kosinski were attempting to sell portions of the manuscripts, Henley filed police reports. In addition, he claimed the items were stolen and sought their return.
The prosecution claims that in response, the defendants engaged in a multi-year campaign to prevent Henley from reclaiming his writings.
The attorneys for the three men - Jonathan Bach (representing Horowitz), Stacey Richman (representing Inciardi), and Antonia Apps (representing Kosinski) - stated in an unified statement that they would fight the accusations.
"The DA's office alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals," the lawyers said. "We will fight these unjustified charges vigorously. These men are innocent."
The men allegedly also attempted to sell the manuscripts through Christie's and Sotheby's and requested that Sotheby's conceal Henley's allegations from possible bidders prior to presenting the manuscripts for sale at public auction in 2016.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office recovered stolen Henley manuscripts from Sotheby's and Kosinski's New Jersey apartment, including 84 pages of "Hotel California" album songs.
Horowitz is claimed to have sought to use the 2016 death of founding Eagles member Glenn Frey to avoid criminal punishment by claiming that the content originated with Frey.
"[Frey] alas, is dead and identifying him as the source would make this go away once and for all," the indictment quoted an email allegedly from Horowitz as saying.
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