Three men have been charged with plotting to sell handwritten lyrics by Eagles founding member Don Henley – including from the Hotel California album – which are worth more than $1 million.
The trio have appeared in court with prosecutors accusing them of deceiving police, auction houses and potential buyers about how they came into possession of them.
Originally stolen in the late 1970s by an author who had been commissioned to write a biography of the band, according to the New York District Attorney’s office, the manuscripts contain lyrics to the Hotel California album’s eponymous hit track, ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ and ‘New Kid in Town’.
Hotel California is the fifth studio album by the Eagles and is the third best-selling album of all time in the US, with 26 million copies sold.
The stolen manuscripts were allegedly sold to rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz, 66, in 2005, who is alleged to have subsequently sold them to Craig Inciardi, 58, and Edward Kosinski, 59.
Inciardi is a curator and director of acquisitions for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, based in New York. He is one of the Rock Hall Foundation’s longest tenured members.
After Henley learned that Inciardi and Kosinski were trying to sell parts of the manuscripts, he filed police reports, informed them they were stolen and demanded their return. The men refused, the court heard.
Prosecutors further said the men engaged in a “years-long campaign to prevent Henley from recovering the manuscripts”, with District Attorney Bragg saying the defendants “attempted to keep and sell these unique and valuable manuscripts, despite knowing they had no right to do so”.
The three men have denied all charges and in a joint statement to Reuters, their lawyers said the prosecution “alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals”.
That hasn’t stopped Inciardi being suspended by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which has also launched its own internal investigation into the matter.
