People have enjoyed Eagles’ album Hotel California for over 45 years, but there’s been an ongoing battle occurring behind the scenes ever since it was released. Now it’s coming to an end. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. has indicted the three men — Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi, and Edward Kosinski — who have long tried to profit from stolen notes from the album, including “Hotel California” and other songs that are worth a combined $1 million.
The notes were stolen in the late’70s by an author who was tasked with writing a biography about the Eagles. Said author then sold them to Horowitz, a rare book dealer, who in turn sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski. Don Henley filed a police report in the hopes of regaining his notes, only for Inciardi and Kosinski to fabricate the origins of the notes, attempt to resell them to Henley, and even go as far as to claim, when the documents were recovered in 2016 after a search warrant was issued, that the notes came directly from late Eagles member Glenn Frey.
Inciardi and Kosinski now face charges of criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree. Horowitz, however, is being charged with attempted criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree as well as two counts of hindering prosecution in the second degree. Henley’s manager Irving Azoff spoke with Billboard about the charges filed and what it exposes about memorabilia sales of stolen goods.
“No one has the right to sell illegally obtained property or profit from the outright theft of irreplaceable pieces of musical history,” Azoff said. “These handwritten lyrics are an integral part of the legacy 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 posterity.”