Eagles: trial for theft of “Hotel California” lyrics to begin

Three men are accused of stealing the handwritten lyrics of songs from the album “ Hotel California » from the Eagles.

The trial of three men accused of stealing the handwritten lyrics of the album’s songs Hotel California of the Eagles opens this week in New York.

In one of the most high-profile cases involving the world of musical relics, three men were arrested in July 2020, accused of trying to sell pages of handwritten lyrics for songs from the album Hotel California (1976) by the Eagles (and for lying about their origin). The documents were estimated to be worth more than $1 million and included drafts of songs such as the title track and ” Life in the Fast Lane » by band member Don Henley.

Postponed several times (it was supposed to open last fall), the trial without a jury should finally begin on Wednesday before the Supreme Criminal Court of the State of New York.

The defendants all have ties to collectors or the art world. Glenn Horowitz is a dealer in high-end rare books and private writer archives. Craig Inciardi is a curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (he was suspended after the arrest), and Edward Kosinski owns Gotta Have Rock and Roll, a memorabilia business in New Jersey.

According to court documents, they are accused of attempting to “ own, transport, store and sell these manuscripts » and to have “ fabricated the provenance of the manuscripts and communicated this false provenance to third parties “.

The three men were each charged with one count of fourth-degree conspiracy, which carries a prison sentence of four years. Horowitz was charged with attempted criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree and two counts of hindering prosecution. Inciardi and Kosinski were also charged with first-degree criminal possession. All have denied the accusations.

The origins of this case date back more than 40 years, when Ed Sanders, author, poet and founding member of the Fugs, was preparing a biography of the Eagles and gained access to their archives, including manuscript lyrics. The book, which Sanders said was 900 pages long, was never published.

Nearly 20 years ago, Sanders sold his notebooks to Horowitz for $50,000. In 2012, Horowitz then sold the documents to Inciardi and Kosinski, who in turn contacted auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Henley purchased a few manuscripts for $8,500 in 2012, but later filed a theft report with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

In May 2019, more than a dozen police officers from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office raided Kosinski’s home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, followed by similar visits to the homes of Inciardi and Horowitz. Agents walked away with 1,300 pages of documents and 84 pages of handwritten lyrics from songs from the album Hotel California.

At the time of the arrest, prosecutor Alvin Bragg said: “ These defendants attempted to keep and sell these unique and valuable manuscripts, even though they knew they had no right to do so. They made up stories about the origin of the documents and their right to possess them in order to profit from them. »

The defendants’ lawyers filed a motion in fall 2022, asking for a dismissal of the case on the grounds that the lyrics were not stolen: as Jonathan Bach, Horowitz’s lawyer, wrote at the time, Sanders traveled with the band and gained possession of voluminous documents, including handwritten drafts of Eagles lyrics. Nowhere does the indictment allege that Mr. Sanders stole or improperly obtained documents “.

At the time of the arrests, Eagles manager Irving Azoff said: “ This action reveals the truth about the sales of musical memorabilia, highly personal and stolen items, hidden behind a facade of legitimacy. No one has the right to sell illegally obtained goods or profit from the outright theft of irreplaceable pieces of musical history. »

But among the many questions that will hopefully be answered during the trial are why this is a criminal (and not civil) case, why Sanders has not been charged and the precise manner in which Sanders obtained the lyrics as part of his research. The trial is expected to last at least 10 days.