Who Is Justo Jay and Is He Related to Jon Jay?

Justo Jay is a Cuban-American public figure best known as the father of Major League Baseball (MLB) player Jon Jay.

Although much of Justo Jay’s claim to fame comes from his relationship with his famous son, he also has a shameful public history. He famously went to prison for 19 years for drug peddling in the United States. If you wish to know more about Justo Jay, including his life history, relationship with his son, and an infamous run-in with the law, look no further as all you need to know is in this read.

Justo Jay Was Born on the Caribbean Island of Cuba

Justo Enrique Jay was born in the early 50s in Little Havana in the Republic of Cuba to impoverished parents who remain unknown to this day. His ethnicity is classified as Afro-Caribbean since he was born in Cuba, which is the biggest island located in the Western West Indies, situated north of Jamaica and South of Florida.

Regarding his real age, Jay is estimated to be in his late sixties. His real age hasn’t been revealed to the public yet. When he was a young boy of about 10, Justo Jay left his Cuban home country in search of a better life since his country was very poor and could not support his lofty dreams. He moved up north towards and into the United States of America.

He intended to make a living that was enough to pull himself and his family out of poverty. Today, he is of dual nationality—American and Cuban. It is almost certain that Justo Jay never attended college, but his high school and middle school education are up for debate. Justo eventually settled down in Florida, where he lived until later in his adult life.

Justo Jay was a Ghost Member of the Cocaine Cowboys Drug Cartel

The Cocaine Cowboys were a criminal syndicate that operated in the Southern parts of the United States of America throughout the 1800s. They dealt mainly in drug distribution and were the major dealers of hard drugs like cocaine and the likes for much of that period. Justo Jay was a member of this gang and was recognized as one of its most powerful drug lords.

The gang was founded by childhood friends Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta, who had also emigrated from Cuba to the United States. With the help of trusted individuals of like mind, they grew their illegal business till it was worth over $2 billion. Popularly nicknamed ‘The Boys,’ Willy and Sal collectively smuggled over 75 tons of cocaine in less than two decades and at the forefront of their logistics was Justo Jay.

He was in charge of overseeing all operations in the stash houses and was a key factor in ensuring the seamless flow of cash and drugs to and from the warehouses. It was discovered that Justo’s role as one of the trusted handymen of the cocaine outfit was because of a long-standing relationship he’d had with the two founders—all three men were Cuban natives and came into America at about the same time.

In 2021, a Netflix television series based on the activities of these men were released. It attempted to chronicle the lives of the two founders, Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta, as accurately as possible. The series titled ‘The Cocaine Cowboys,’ and was directed by Billy Corben, was divided into six parts.

Each part revealed the journey of possibly the most famous narcotics dealers of Southern America in the last three decades. Justo himself wasn’t featured in the documentary, much to the chagrin of a few people.

The reason Netflix gave for this was that he was a felon and ex-convict, and it would have been improper to feature him in the series. Interestingly, neither Willy nor Sal ever went to prison for their alleged drug-related crimes.

In 1988, Justo Jay was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Drug-Related Offenses

Because Justo Jay was so critical to the syndicate, he was transferred to North Carolina to oversee the business from there but was apprehended in 1988. Two days later, on February 2, 1988, Justo was slammed with a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE) indictment by the Western District of North Carolina.

The following month, on March 9, he was doubly charged with one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine to distribute along with 14 additional counts of possession with the intent to deal and distribute cocaine. After a short trial, he was found guilty on all counts and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in addition to 115 years on some other counts, to be served concurrently.

Word on the street was that Justo Jay’s heavy sentence was punishment for his refusal to give information about the activities of the gang. He appealed the sentence at the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and overturned only his conspiracy sentence. He ended up spending 19 years in prison before being released from federal custody in 2007.

Justo Jay is the Father of Jon Jay, the Baseball Player

As already established, Justo Jay is Jon Jay’s biological father. Jon Jay was born on March 15, 1985, in Miami, Florida, to Justo and his wife, Marta Jay. Like her husband, Marta was an immigrant from Matanzas, and together, they all lived in Florida.

The small family of three thrived off of Justo’s illegal dealings until 1988 when he was arrested and detained. Jon was only three years old at the time when things changed completely from how he knew them.

After his father was put away, Jon was raised single-handedly by his mother, Marta. He attended the George Washington Carver Middle School and then proceeded to Christopher Columbus High School. After high school, he gained a sports scholarship to the University of Miami (UM), and he began his amateur baseball career playing for the Miami Hurricanes.

In 2006, he was signed into major league baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals. Jay spent his entire childhood and teenage years without the influence of his father. Upon Justo’s release in 2007, Jon Jay was already a young man of 22. Nevertheless, both men wasted no time reconnecting, and Justo was present at his son’s game for the first time.

While they refuse to place a spotlight on their father-son relationship, there is no doubt that they have a strong bond between them. Currently, Justo Jay doesn’t have any other children besides Jon, and it doesn’t look like he intends to have any at all.

Where is Justo Jay Now?

Justo Jay is currently back in Florida, where he lives with his wife. He miraculously got out just a couple of weeks before his son’s first game in Major League Baseball. He spent 19 years in jail before he was released on parole.

After his release, Justo Jay made it a point to reconnect with his family, especially his son. He currently has no social media presence and prefers to spend the remainder of his life catching up with his son and multiple grandchildren.

Quick Facts About Justo Jay and His Relationship With Jon Jay

1. Who is Justo Jay? Justo Jay is a former drug trafficker who was a key figure in the Miami drug trade during the 1980s. He is a Cuban-American national of Caribbean ethnicity. He was associated with the notorious Cocaine Cowboys gang, which was responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine into the United States.
2. Who is Jon Jay, and how is he related to Justo Jay? Jon Jay, whose real name is Jonathan Henry Jay, is a famous Major League Baseball player and the son of Justo Jay.
3. What is known about Justo Jay’s involvement with the Cocaine Cowboys gang? Justo Jay was a key figure in the notorious Cocaine Cowboys gang, which was responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine into the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. The group was led by Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta. Justo was arrested and charged in 1988 and served 19 years in prison.
4. Who are Justo Jay’s children? Justo Jay has two children: Jonathan Henry Jay (Jon Jay), a former Major League Baseball player, and a daughter named Janelle who works as a real estate advisor in South Florida.
5. Who is Justo Jay’s wife? Justo Jay’s wife is Maria Marta Jay, though not much information is publicly available about her.
6. What is Justo Jay’s net worth? Justo Jay’s net worth is not publicly available, but it is believed that he made millions of dollars through his involvement in the Miami drug trade during the 1980s.
7. What is known about Justo Jay’s arrest and sentencing? Justo Jay was arrested and charged in 1988 and served 19 years in prison. His sentence was initially longer, but he appealed the sentence in court.
8. What is the connection between Justo Jay and the Netflix documentary series ‘Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami’? Justo Jay was a key member of the cocaine organization led by Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta, which is the subject of the Netflix documentary series ‘Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami.’
9. Where is Justo Jay now? Justo Jay was released from federal custody in 2007, after serving a total of 19 years behind bars. Since his release, he has preferred to stay out of the spotlight and not much is known about his current personal or professional experiences.
10. How has Justo Jay’s past affected his son Jon Jay? Jon Jay grew up in the Cuban culture influenced by his family. Despite his father’s past as a drug trafficker, Jon Jay pursued a successful career in baseball and is a former Major League player. His father’s release from prison in 2007 coincided with Jon’s baseball minor league debut.