Stolen 'Hotel California' Pages Recovered, 3 Men Charged: Manhattan DA

NEW YORK — Three men connected to stolen handwritten "Hotel California" lyrics could end up in a place where you can check out any time you like, but —until a judge says so — you can never leave, according to Manhattan's District Attorney.

A rare books dealer and two other men stand accused of owning the stolen manuscript — valued at more than $1 million — then trying to auction it off at New York City houses Sotheby's and Christie's, District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.

“New York is a world-class hub for art and culture, and those who deal [with] cultural artifacts must scrupulously follow the law,” Bragg said in a statement.

“There is no room for those who would seek to ignore the basic expectations of fair dealing and undermine the public’s confidence and trust in our cultural trade for their own ends.”

The pages were initially stolen in the late 1970s from an Eagles biographer who had been hired to write about the band, prosecutors said.

The biographer sold the pages to Manhattan dealer Glenn Horowitz, who then sold the manuscript to Greg Inciardi of Brooklyn and Edward Kosinki of New Jersey, prosecutors contend.

Eagles founding member Don Henley learned the pair were trying to sell the pages and filed a report with police then informed the pair the pages were stolen, said prosecutors.

"Rather than making any effort to ensure they actually had rightful ownership, the defendants responded by engaging in a years-long campaign to prevent Henley from recovering the manuscripts," Bragg stated in a press release.

The DA’s Office executed warrants in 2016, and was able to retrieve parts of the manuscript from Sotheby’s, the auction house on the Upper East Side, and Kosinki’s home, prosecutors said.

There was also an attempt to sell to the Christie’s auction house, added Bragg’s Office.

The three men now face charges of conspiracy and attempted criminal possession of stolen property, said the DA’s Office.

Horowitz also faces a hindering prosecution charge for trying to duck charges by claiming the late Eagles band member Glenn Frey had given him a change of ownership, according to Bragg’s Office.

“[Frey] alas, is dead and identifying him as the source would make this go away once and for all,” read an email allegedly sent by Horowitz that was obtained by the DA’s Office.

“These defendants attempted to keep and sell these unique and valuable manuscripts, despite knowing they had no right to do so,” added Bragg. “They made up stories about the origin of the documents and their right to possess them so they could turn a profit.”