Two more items on this story:
"The $80,000 was in $100 bills, authorities said.
The owner of the cash-stuffed baggage runs a gift shop in Manhattan, officials said."
and
"The owner of the money did not declare the cash but Ryan said he was never asked if he had anything to declare and he will likely not be charged with any crime."
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The Paki never declared the money ... and he gets off scot free. There must be more to this story than meets the eye.
Well, he should have declared the money, but there are many reasons one might carry a small sum like $80,000 in $100 bills to a place like Pakistan.
The man owns a gift shop. If he went on a buying trip, it would be normal to use cash to make purchases of inventory for his shop. The $100 bill is the standard medium of exchange in that industry, among other industries, in Pakistan. It's also standard in most African countries and in the rest of Asia.
$80,000 is a small sum if you're on a buying trip for a business.
Pakistan is a source for many items one might find in a gift shop. I can think of several specialty lines of products that could be purchased there, along with items from Afghanistan other countries in the middle east. Not all business done in Pakistan is terrorism-related.
That said, the money should have been declared and the idiot should never have packed it in checked luggage. I suspect he checked it in an attempt not to declare it...working off the books, as many small business owners do a lot of the time. It's risky, though, as he discovered.