William Miranda Marín William " Willie " Miranda Marín ( September 23 , 1940 – June 4 , 2010 ) was the mayor of Caguas , Puerto Rico from 1997 until his death in 2010 . Personal life . The son of José Miranda Gómez , a sugar cane cutter , and Rafaela Marín , a tobacco stripper , Miranda Marín was born in the Tomás de Castro sector of rural Caguas . and graduated from the José Gautier Benítez High School in Caguas in 1957 . Four years later , he earned a bachelor ' s degree in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras . In 1969 he completed his law degree at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras and was admitted to the bar in 1970 . Miranda Marín and his wife had three children : William Edgardo , Luis Alexander , and José Juan . They resided in the sector of Bairoa in Caguas . On September 18 , 2009 , Miranda Marín announced he was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer . On June 4 , 2010 at 7 : 45 in the morning , Miranda Marín died in the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan , Puerto Rico after battling his illness . Businessman . Miranda Marín held top positions at Empresas Díaz and the San Juan Cement Co . from 1979 to 1990 , among them treasurer , executive vice - president , and co - chairman of the board . Before seeking public office for the first time in 1996 , he devoted three years to housing and commercial development . Miranda Marín also served as member and treasurer of the board of the Puerto Rico Health Services Corp . , as chairman of the board of the San Juan Children ' s Choir , and as chairman of the board of the Community Services Institute . Political career . He served as executive vice president of the Government Development Bank from 1973 to 1975 , as executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority from 1975 to 1976 , and as Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard with the rank of Major General ( 1990 – 1992 ) . While commanding the Puerto Rico National Guard , MG William Miranda Marin founded the PRNG Institutional Trust ( FIGNA ) . He also served as executive director of the Office for Improvement of the Public Schools of Puerto Rico from 1990 to 1992 . Miranda Marín also was the chairman of the U . S . Democratic Party Chapter of Puerto Rico , secretary - general of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico ( PPD ) , chairman of the PPD Status Commission , and president of the Puerto Rico Mayors Association . Until his death , he was chairman of the board of the Municipal Revenue Collections Center ( CRIM by its acronym in Spanish ) . His candidacy had been considered by the Popular Democratic Party ( PPD by its acronym in Spanish ) to be a viable contender for the Governorship of Puerto Rico . Political Views . Miranda Marín ' s views were regarded as " soberanista , " which seeks more sovereign political powers from the US outside the current framework of E . L . A . ( Estado Libre Asociado ) . Mayor of Caguas . On January 13 , 1997 Miranda Marín became the mayor of Caguas and had since won re - election in 2000 , 2004 and 2008 . In 2002 , Miranda Marín was voted the " Caribbean Business ' Public Sector Person of the Year . " In 2005 Miranda Marín announced a 1 % municipal tax surcharge in his town of Caguas , which allegedly was necessary in order to meet municipal payrolls , particularly for garbage collectors . The tax was nicknamed the Willie Tax by Puerto Ricans , and proved to be an enormous success in financial terms that provoked other municipalities to follow .