Three charged with conspiracy to sell stolen papers in Eagles’ words

Three men were accused on Tuesday of trying to sell a cache of papers – including about 100 pages filled with lyrics such as “New Kid in Town,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and the iconic “Hotel California” – despite their lack of proper information. . Material rights.

Rock auctioneer Edward Kosinski, rare book dealer Glenn Horowitz, and director of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acquisitions Craig Insiardi have been accused of plotting to sell stolen pages — valued at more than $1 million — by lying to authorities, and fabricating stories about where the materials came from And its rightful owner, Dawn Henley, a founding member of Eagles, prevented them from acquiring it.

These defendants tried to keep and sell these unique and valuable manuscripts, even though they knew they had no right to do so. Manhattan Attorney General Alvin L. Prague in new version.

Lawyers for Kosinski, Horowitz and Inciardi – who pleaded their innocence in court Tuesday – did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post. However, in a joint statement, they considered the accusations to be unjustified, a law and a crime mentioned.

“DA’s office alleges that there is no crime and unfairly denigrates respected professionals,” the men’s lawyers said in a statement to the outlet. We will vigorously fight these unjustified accusations. These guys are innocent.”

How the papers ended up in the hands of three collector’s magnates—and were nearly sold by auction giants Sotheby’s and Christie’s—is a story that began when former Eagles guitarist Don Felder Start writing the song “Hotel California” after joining the group in 1974.

Now it’s Eagles across from the Hotel California in federal court

Felder shared a demo reminiscent of “Mexican Reggae” with Henley and Glenn Fry, head of the Eagles who died in 2016, and they came up with the concept and cinematic lyrics for the song, which would eventually elevate the album of the same name to number one. in 1977. Since then, the “Hotel California” – which draws inspiration from life in hotels and the “dark underbelly of the American dream”, has become Henley Tell CBS News – Has broke out conspiracy theories For her words and praise for arpeggio sound effects.

The process of creating the song was documented by Henley in Pages that vanished after it was acquired by a writer who was working on a book about the band. Then the clerk — who was not named in the indictment — then sold the items in 2005 to Horowitz, who in turn sold them to the other two men, according to court documents.

When Henley realized that Inciardi and Kosenki were trying to sell the long-lost manuscripts, he told them it was stolen, demanded that they be returned and made a police report. However, “instead of making any effort to ensure that they actually had legitimate ownership, the defendants responded by engaging in a years-long campaign to prevent Henley from recovering the manuscripts,” the plaintiffs allege.

Although prosecutors asserted that the unnamed writer stole the papers, in contacts with the accused trio, the writer said in 2012 that he remembered “finding the discarded material backstage at the Eagles’ locker room backstage.” Later, he said that he got it through Henley’s assistant after staying at the house of musician Malibu. In 2016, the writer changed his story again, saying that Fry had secretly given him the papers — a convenient way, prosecutors say, to confirm ownership of the materials once Fry died and could no longer contest the account.

According to court documents, Frey is “unfortunately dead, and identifying him as the source will make this go away for good.”

Don Henley says the Eagles are finished. It was always Glenn Fry’s band.

The indictment alleges that the changing narratives were part of a five-year effort to auction off the items. While Sotheby’s and Christie’s were initially interested in selling the papers, they were never auctioned. Beginning in December 2016, authorities began executing search warrants to retrieve items from Sotheby’s and from Kosinski’s home in New Jersey.

Now, it looks like 100 pages of scribbles, notes, and lyrics are coming back to Henley.

Henley’s director, Irving Azoff, said, “No one has the right to sell illegally acquired property or profit from the outright theft of irreplaceable passages of musical history.” painting. “These handwritten words are an integral part of the legacy that Don Henley has created over the course of his 50-plus year career. We look forward to the return of Don’s property, for him and his family to enjoy and preserve for generations to come.”