finders keepers?

I just read the following story:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010829/od/cash_dc_1.html
And now I wonder, if you find a large sum of lost money,
and keep it, how much trouble can you get into?

If you find a large sum of money (or technically, anything of value) you must attempt to find the rightful owner. You can turn it in to the police, and if it is unclaimed after a defined time you can file a claim for it. In the case of the guy finding $203,000 in a bag, I assume the bag had some markings. He also “knew or should have known” that the owner would want to claim it. IANAL, but I think that if he kept the money he would be guilty of theft.