TRENTON -- A lab worker for the state Medical Examiner's Office was fired and criminally charged for allegedly stealing cash from a dead man's body, authorities said.

Darryl L. Green, 48, is accused of taking $1,120 from a 28-year-old man killed in a Newark car crash on December 18, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice.

Authorities say the man died following a single-car crash on Sherman Avenue around 3:15 a.m. Law enforcement and medical examiner staff at the scene noted the large sum of cash in the man's pocket before placing him in a body bag.

But when he was removed from the body bag the next day at the Northern Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark, police say, the cash was gone.

State investigators claim Green removed the cash from the man's clothing sometime before the autopsy.

Green, of Piscataway, was a forensic morgue technician at the office, where his duties included making photographic records of autopsies. He has worked there since 2014 and made an annual salary of $52,000, according to public records.

After the discovery, authorities said Green was fired and charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking. He faces three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

He could not immediately be reached for comment and it was not clear whether he had retained an attorney.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.