You can check-out any time you like! NYC judge DISMISSES Hotel California trial over stolen Eagles lyrics and slams Don Henley for 'misleading' DA's office - after it charged three men for trying to sell $1M in notes

A New York City judge has dramatically dismissed the criminal case against three men accused of stealing handwritten Hotel California lyrics by The Eagles - as he slammed Don Henley for 'inherently misleading' witnesses.

Prosecutors claimed Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski tried to sell materials worth more than $1million and lied to auction houses, prospective buyers and cops about how they obtained them between March 2012 and December 2016.

But the case at New York Supreme Court was dismissed on Wednesday following a trial which lasted a week and a half after 6,000 pages of new evidence contradicted the testimony of Henley and his lawyers.

Prosecutors claimed Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski (left to right) tried to sell materials worth more than $1million and lied to auction houses, prospective buyers and cops about how they obtained them between March 2012 and December 2016 

Supreme Court Justice Farber said: 'Mr. Henley and Mr. Azoff used the privilege to shield themselves from a thorough, complete cross examination.

'It is now clear that both witnesses and their lawyers, two of which also shielded themselves from thorough cross examination, are relying on Mr. Henley's implication use of privilege to obfuscate and hide information that was believed to be damaging to their position that the lyric sheets were stolen. This is a basic confrontation violation.'

DailyMail.com has contacted Henley's representatives for comment.

Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinski expressed huge relief as the case was dismissed and they shared warm embraces with their families who were overcome with tears.

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Aaron Ginandes moved to dismiss the case against the three men because the 'prosecution's confidence in the merits of this case' was not enough.

'The witnesses' decision at trial to invoke, and later waive, their attorney-client

Don Henley is seen of arriving at Manhattan Supreme Court to testify at the theft trial of three men accused of stealing Hotel California lyrics

Henley made his way inside the courtroom shortly before 9am on Monday 

privilege resulted in the belated production of approximately 6,000 pages of material,' he told the court.

'These delayed disclosures revealed relevant information that the defense should have had the opportunity to explore in cross-examination of the People's witnesses.

'Mindful that the Court has ruled that an adjournment and the recalling of witnesses are not sufficient to address the belated production, the People concede that dismissal is appropriate in this case.'

Justice Farber said the prosecution were 'inherently manipulated'.

But he added: 'District Attorney Bragg and the prosecutorial team here, while eating a slice of humble pie, are displaying the highest level of integrity and moving to dismiss the charges. I am impressed.'

Kosinski's defense attorney Scott Edelman reacted to news of the case's dismissal and said: 'This case never should have been brought against Mr Kosinski.

Defendant, rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court

Defendant, memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court

'The evidence over two weeks of trial established there was no evidence. Sanders had stolen the manuscript and Sanders himself was never charged, no explanation was ever provided by the DA's office.

'There was certainly zero evidence that Mr Kosinski believed the manuscript was stolen. The evidence established he put it up for public auction, that's not something anybody who believes a manuscript is stolen would do.

'As you heard from the judge, what was revealed by the belated disclosure of privileged documents was an effort to obfuscate by Mr Henley, Mr Azoff and the lawyers that were working with him, that is what we heard from the judge.'

He added: 'This case should not have been brought, the DA had many opportunities to drop the case. I commend them in the end for making the right decision.

'But frankly from the perspective of my client, Mr Kosinski, it is too little and too late and they should have done the right thing from the beginning.

'The DA in this case got blinded by the fame and the fortune of a celebrity and brought a case that would never be brought if it was just a normal person involved.

'That blinded them to the information that they weren't being given and led to the events of today. We are pleased this has been dismissed.

'Judge Farber's comments about the prosecution witnesses, Mr Henley, Mr Azoff and the lawyers speaks volumes.'

Following the incident, Henley (pictured in 1976) pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was sentenced to two years probation and handed a $2,500 fine in February 1981

Members of The Eagles, from left, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh pose with an autographed guitar after a news conference in 2013

While Horowitz's defense attorney Jonathan Bach said: 'One of the ironies of this case is that Mr Horowitz and the other defendants in this case were accused of not doing a full investigation of Mr Sanders.

'But it appears that the failure to do a full investigation lies with the other side.

'It turns out the information they [the prosecution] were getting, in the words of the judge, was manipulated, strategic and designed to present a one-sided view.

'The belated evidence we received cast great doubt over the testimony elicited from the prosecution witnesses.

'In court we refer to it as establishing perjury or at least an inaccurate and tainted record.'

Inciardi's defense attorney Stacey Richman added: 'These are three factually innocent men. The question now is now we have proven our openings, where do these men go to get their reputation back?

'We are checking out and leaving the courtroom because we are innocent people.'

Lawyers for the three men have not ruled out bringing a civil suit against Henley and will be assessing their rights following the dismissal.

These documents detailing Henley's arrest over the 1980 overdose of a prostitute will be introduced at an upcoming criminal trial

They confirmed it is within their clients rights to continue trying to sell the handwritten Eagles notes and lyrics which were put up for auction in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

The defendants acquired the pages through writer Ed Sanders, who began working with the Eagles in 1979 on a band biography that never made it into print.

He sold the documents to Horowitz, who sold them to Kosinski and Inciardi. Kosinski has a rock 'n' roll collectibles auction site; Inciardi was then a curator at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

In a 2005 email to Horowitz, Sanders said Henley's assistant had sent him the documents for the biography project, according to the indictment.

Henley, however, testified to a grand jury that he never gave the biographer the lyrics, according to court filings. He only reported them stolen after Inciardi and Kosinski began in 2012 to offer them at various auctions.

Henley bought four pages back for $8,500 in 2012 and Kosinski's lawyers argued that the transaction implicitly recognized his ownership.

But Eagles manager Irving Azoff testified that Henley just wanted the material back and didn't realize, at the time, that more pages were out there and would crop up at more auctions over the next four years.

The prosecution had claimed he was unaware there were still another 100 pages and declined two further attempts to purchase some lyrics back for $12,000 in 2014 and the complete set for $90,000 in 2016.