New York Prosecutors Drop Case Midtrial Against Men Accused of Possessing 'Hotel California' Lyrics

After a dramatic turn of events, the criminal case against three men accused of conspiring to possess a cache of hand-drafted lyrics to “Hotel California” and other Eagles hits was abruptly dropped midtrial on Wednesday. This surprising decision came after Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Aaron Ginandes informed the judge at 10 a.m. that the prosecution would no longer proceed with the case. The reason cited for this decision was the emergence of newly available emails which raised questions about the trial's fairness, as indicated by defense lawyers. The trial, which had been ongoing since late February, came to an unexpected end.

Newly Revealed Communications

The raft of communications emerged unexpectedly, after Eagles star Don Henley reportedly decided to waive attorney-client privilege last week, long after he and other prosecution witnesses had already testified. These new disclosures raised questions that the defense had not been able to address during the trial. It was argued that witnesses and their lawyers had used the attorney-client privilege to hide information which they believed would be damaging, leading to the dismissal of the case by Judge Curtis Farber.

The Allegations

The case revolved around roughly 100 pages of legal-pad pages from the creation of the 1976 album “Hotel California,” which ranks as the third-biggest seller of all time in the U.S. The accused were three well-established figures in the collectibles world: rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi, and rock memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski. Prosecutors had alleged that the men knowingly possessed pages with a questionable chain of ownership and attempted to sell them while fabricating a provenance to pass muster with auction houses. The defendants pleaded not guilty, maintaining that they were rightful owners of the pages which were not stolen.

Defense's Reaction

Expressing relief at the decision to drop the case, Jonathan Bach, an attorney for Horowitz, stated outside the court, “We are glad the district attorney’s office finally made the right decision to drop this case. It should never have been brought.”

Henley's Response

Henley’s current lawyer, Dan Petrocelli, expressed disappointment at the outcome, emphasizing the importance of attorney-client privilege in the justice system. He stated that Henley, as the victim in this case, had been unjustly treated and that he would pursue all his rights in the civil courts.

Disputed Ownership

The defense maintained that Henley had given the documents to a writer who worked on a never-published Eagles biography, and that the writer later sold the handwritten sheets to Horowitz. Horowitz then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski, who began putting some of the pages up for auction in 2012. Henley, realizing they were missing when they showed up for sale, reported them stolen. He testified that he had allowed the writer to pore through the documents for research, but had never gifted them or given them to anybody to keep or sell.

Delayed Disclosures

In a letter to the court, Ginandes, the prosecutor, stated that the belated production of about 6,000 pages of material, resulting from the waiver of attorney-client privilege, revealed relevant information that the defense should have had the opportunity to explore during cross-examination of the People's witnesses.