Three people have been charged because they stole Don Henley’s song lyrics.

Three people have been charged in New York for having 100 pages of lyrics written by Don Henley, the lead singer of the Eagles.

 

In a news release on Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) said that Glenn Horowitz, 66, Craig Inciardi, 58, and Edward Kosinski, 59, had all been charged as part of the scheme.

 

Court records show that the manuscripts were stolen by a writer who was hired to write a biography of the rock band more than 40 years ago. In 2005, the author is said to have sold the manuscripts to Horowitz. Horowitz, who bought and sold rare books, gave them to Inciardi and Kosinski.

 

When Henley heard that the manuscripts had been stolen, he tried to help, including by filing a police report.

People who were allegedly involved in the theft fought with Henley for years to keep him from getting the stolen items back. Both Horowitz and Inciardi made up stories about where the manuscripts came from. Inciardi and Kosinski got the frontman to buy back his stolen manuscripts by making a false claim about where they came from.

 

The same people also tried to sell the stolen manuscripts through Christie’s and Sotheby’s, but they didn’t tell potential buyers about Henley’s claims.

 

Authorities carried out a number of search warrants and found Henley’s stolen manuscripts. Among them were 84 pages with lyrics to songs from the Eagles’ 1977 album “Hotel California,” including “Hotel California,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and “New Kid in Town,” according to a news release.

 

Authorities also said that Horowitz tried to keep himself from being charged with a crime by making a new false statement of provenance that said band member Glenn Frey, who died in 2016, was the original owner of the stolen material.

 

“New York is one of the best places in the world for art and culture, and people who sell cultural items must always follow the law. Bragg said in a statement, “There is no room for those who want to ignore the most basic rules of fair dealing and hurt the public’s faith and trust in our cultural trade for their own gain.”

 

“These defendants tried to keep and sell these rare and valuable manuscripts, even though they knew they didn’t have the right to. So they could make money, they made up stories about where the documents came from and why they should have them.