The men, Glenn Horowitz, 66, Craig Inciardi, 58, and Edward Kosinski, 59, were each charged with one count of fourth-degree conspiracy. Inciardi and Kosinski were also charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree. Horowitz was charged with attempted criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree and two counts of hindering prosecution in the second degree. The three men surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and were released to their lawyers. Lawyers for the three men issued a joint statement to CNN saying the men are innocent. “The DA’s office is alleging criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishing the reputations of respected professionals. We will fight these unwarranted charges vigorously,” attorneys Jonathan Bach, Stacey Richman and Antonia Apps said in a statement. The indictment alleges that between 2012 and 2019, Inciardi and Kosinski were in possession of “developmental lyrics” to songs from the Hotel California album, that the men knew the documents were stolen and tried to sell them. “These defendants tried 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 so they could make a profit. Bragg said. . Prosecutors said in a news release that the manuscripts were originally stolen in the late 1970s by an author hired to write a biography of the band, and that the biographer eventually sold the manuscripts in 2005 to Horowitz, who is a rare book dealer. , who later allegedly sold the documents to Inciardi and Kosinski. CNN reached out to each of the men for comment on the allegations. “When Don Henley learned that Inciardi and Kosinski were trying to sell portions of the manuscripts, he filed reports with the police, told the defendants that the materials had been stolen and demanded the return of his property,” a news release from prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Inciardi and Kosinski tried to force Henley to buy back the manuscripts while simultaneously trying to sell them through auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The district attorney’s office executed a series of search warrants beginning in December 2016 and recovered the manuscripts from Sotheby’s and Kosinski’s New Jersey home. CNN has reached out to Sotheby’s for comment. The indictment shows emails between the men discussing how they would trace the source of the manuscripts to others. In a February 22, 2017 email following the death of Eagles member Glenn Frey, Horowitz reportedly wrote that acknowledging Frey as the source of the manuscripts “would make it go away once and for all.” A December 2016 email purportedly from Kosinski to a Sotheby’s employee said: “Don Henley still wants this back” and asked: “Please do not tell potential bidders that (Henley’s) lawyers are asking about the lyrics. “ The men are expected to have a hearing in their case on October 4. Henley’s manager released a statement on Wednesday thanking the prosecutor and saying the musician hopes to get the items back. “This action exposes the truth about music memorabilia sales of highly personal, stolen items hidden behind a facade of legality,” manager Irving Azoff said in a statement. “No one has the right to sell ill-gotten wealth or profit from the theft of irreplaceable pieces of music history. These handwritten lyrics are an integral part of the legacy that Don Henley created during his 50-year career.”
