Three men, including a curator for the Rock Roll Hall of Fame, were charged on Tuesday over allegedly possessing a trove of stolen handwritten notes and lyrics by the Eagles’ co-founder Don Henley, with New York officials estimating the documents are worth more than $1 million.
Curator Craig Inciardi, Glenn Horowitz, and Edward Kosinski are all accused of being involved in a conspiracy that sought to peddle nearly 100 pages of Don Henley’s handwritten notes and lyrics from “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane”Potential buyers. (Attorneys representing the men claimed that their clients were innocent. “fight these unjustified charges vigorously.”)
Henley tried to retrieve the manuscripts for many years after they were allegedly stolen in 1970s by an unknown biographer. According to officials, he then pawned the documents to Horowitz, in 2005.
Horowitz allegedly brought Inciardi and Kosinski into the fold, and the trio began working to sell off the documents to various auction houses, including Sotheby’s and Christie’s, as well as trying to “coerce”Officials said that Henley should buy back the property which he had rightfully owned.
The DA’s office began investigating the matter shortly before founding member Glenn Frey’s death in January 2016, claiming that Horowitz hatched a plan to claim the documents had belonged to Frey, making the criminal investigation against the men fall apart. According to reports, he sent an email stating that he had received the following: “identifying [Frey] as the source would make this go away once and for all.”
Horowitz will be charged with attempted criminal possession and hindering prosecution in the first degree. Inciardi as well as Kosinski were both charged with the first degree of criminal possession.
Rolling StoneWe have learned that Inciardi was suspended from his position at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. President and CEO Joel Peresman informed board members of the decision just before the news of the indictment became public.
“At this time we do not know whether Craig engaged in any wrongdoing,”He wrote the following in a letter he received from Rolling Sone. “He will remain on leave pending the resolution of the third party internal investigation and the extent of the charges once the indictment is unsealed.”
A statement was provided Rolling StoneIrving Azoff, Eagles manager, said that the band was happy with the indictments. Henley looked forward to receiving the documents back.
“This action exposes the truth about music memorabilia sales of highly personal, stolen items hidden behind a facade of legitimacy,”He said. “No one has the right to sell illegally obtained property or profit from the outright theft of irreplaceable pieces of musical history. These handwritten lyrics are an integral part of the legacy Don Henley has created over the course of his 50-plus-year career,” he added.”
Alvin L Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney, also celebrated the news in a press statement announcing indictments. “New York is a world-class hub for art and culture, and those who deal cultural artifacts must scrupulously follow the law,”He wrote. “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.”